EDUCATION AND SKILLS

European Vocational Qualifications

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on recent progress on the establishment of a European vocational qualifications framework.

Bill Rammell: The UK conducted a national consultation on the European Commission's proposal for a European qualifications framework between September and December 2005, and submitted its response in January 2006. UK experts participated in a conference in Budapest in February 2006 to discuss the issues emerging from the consultation. The Commission is currently consulting an expert group containing technical representatives from all EU member states in order to finalise its proposal. We anticipate that a final proposal will be produced in autumn 2006. The final proposal will cover the full spectrum of education and training, including both academic and vocational qualifications.

Level 3 Qualification

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 19 to 25-year-olds in Coventry South are studying for a first level 3 qualification.

Bill Rammell: In the academic year 2004/05 there were 269 19 to 25-year-olds in Coventry South studying for a full NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification* in further education and work-based learning.
	This does not include access to HE qualifications or wholly privately funded study aims.

Teachers Pension Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the  (a) contribution rates and  (b) proposed contribution rates to the Teachers' Pension Scheme are for (i) teachers and (ii) employers; and from when the proposed rates will take effect.

Bill Rammell: The pension contributions currently paid by teachers and employers to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) are 6 per cent. and 13.5 per cent. of salary respectively. The 2004 valuation of the TPS is reporting a net pressure on the contribution rate of 0.8 per cent. of salary. This is on the assumption that the change in contribution rate would take effect from 1 January 2007.
	As part of the negotiations between DfES, unions and employer representatives on a package of reforms to the TPS, discussions are continuing on how current and any future pressures arising from scheme valuations should be handled between employers and scheme members. The expectation is that a formal consultation on reform proposals will be launched during May. This will include details of how the 0.8 per cent. net pressure arising from the 2004 valuation will be dealt with in the contribution rate paid by employers and scheme members; and the respective contribution rates that will apply from 1 January 2007.

Teachers Pension Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the projected annual increase in cost is to local education authorities of the proposed increase in the employers' contribution to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Bill Rammell: The proposed increase in employer contributions from January 2007 will add a maximum of 0.8 per cent. to the paybill of local authorities for all those teachers in membership of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. This cost increase has been more than covered in the levels of the minimum funding guarantee for 2006-07 and 2007-08, and by the increases in dedicated schools grant of 6 per cent. in 2006-07 and 6.4 per cent. in 2007-08.

Under-performing Colleges

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether under the proposals in the further education White Paper (Cm 6798) a local education authority would be permitted to take over responsibility for an under-performing college.

Bill Rammell: Local authorities and the LSC have crucial roles to play in delivering the reforms set out in the White Paper 'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances', and must work together to drive progress through a shared strategy. The White Paper makes clear that we want local authorities to play a strategic leadership role, consistent with their leadership role in children's services overall, ensuring the integration of 14-19 reform with the wider agenda for children and young people in the locality. The Learning and Skills Council will be the primary partner for the local authority, and will use its funding and powers to secure high quality provision which meets the needs of learners and employers in every area. This will include providing opportunities for new and existing high quality providers to openly compete for provision.
	The White Paper sets out a robust approach to tackling underperformance which could culminate in the Learning and Skills Council ceasing to fund provision which does not improve; or requiring changes to governance or executive management.
	If a change in governance or leadership is required, this might include a stronger role for the relevant local authority at the invitation of the existing governing body.
	If funding is withdrawn, replacement provision is likely to be sourced by competition. No one model is expected to arise out of a competition to secure a replacement provider. It would be open to a local authority to participate in a competition if it wished to do so.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid Projects

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government takes to ensure that aid-sponsored projects are clearly demarked as donor sponsored and not claimed by recipient governments as domestic government funded.

Hilary Benn: Information on the support provided by DFID to partner countries is publicly available (including on DFID's website www.dfid.gov.uk) and is disseminated in partner countries by DFID offices and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) missions.
	We believe that aid is more effective when used to support developing countries' own plans, and to strengthen their own capacity to deliver. So where possible, DFID works in partnership with developing country governments, and integrates our support with their programmes. In such partnerships, our aim is to ensure public understanding of our combined efforts rather than to separately identify donor funded work.
	Where however, governments do not share our commitment to reducing poverty reduction, human rights and good financial management, it is important to ensure that our aid is visibly separate from government programmes. For example, in Zimbabwe, no DFID funding is channelled through the Government. All our assistance, which focuses on humanitarian need and the HIV/AIDS crisis, is provided through non-governmental organisations and UN agencies. This substantially reduces the scope for the government to claim credit for assistance provided by DFID

Development Funding

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Government have allocated to the  (a) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme,  (b) UN Economic Commission for Africa and  (c) Pan-African Parliament for each of the next three years; what funding has been provided in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) sets out Africa leaders' priorities to help boost agricultural growth and food security at continental, regional and country levels. As the UK and other G8 countries only responded firmly to CAADP during 2005, no funds were explicitly allocated to it over the last three years. However, the response below identifies where DFID funding was consistent with the CAADP.
	At the country level, the CAADP commits African countries to spend 10 per cent. of their budgets on the agriculture sector. DFID's support to African country budgets will help them do this. However, detailed information on how budget support is allocated to sectors by Africa governments are not held centrally and to gather it would involve incurring a disproportionate cost.
	At the regional and continental levels, DFID provided around £80 million over the last three years for agricultural research, one of CAADP's four priorities. In the next three years, DFID has allocated around £85 million to agricultural research in Africa as part of its response to CAADP.
	In financial year 2005-06, DFID committed an additional £200,000 to design a programme of additional regional support under CAADP. This will clarify DFID's plans for additional regional work on CAADP over each of the coming three years. DFID has provided a total of £2,348,000 to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-EGA) over the last three financial years (£1,000,000 in 2003-04, £673,121 in 2004-05 and £675,000 in 2005-06). DFID has recently been considering a contribution for the next three years with the Commission. However, this has been delayed whilst the UN-ECA re-examines its role in conjunction with the African Union and the African Development Bank, under the new leadership of Abdoulie Janneh. We expect the UN-ECA to be in a better position to discuss its future needs with donors after its Annual Meeting in May.
	No support has been given to the Pan African Parliament to date. However, DFID is currently discussing priorities for support with the Pan African Parliament. We hope to complete the design of a Pan African Parliament support programme over the coming months.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to increase the percentage of HIV positive pregnant women in Africa with access to  (a) information,  (b) drugs and  (c) antenatal treatment to prevent transmission of the virus to their child.

Gareth Thomas: Access to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services is unacceptably low in many sub Saharan African Countries where often less than 5 per cent. of pregnant women are able to access these services. The recent Secretary General's report to the UN reporting on progress for the past five years on AIDS, highlights that only 9 per cent. of HIV positive pregnant women in low and middle income countries have access to PMTCT services.
	DFID has been actively engaged in building international consensus, and as co-chair of the Global Steering Committee for the June 2006 HIV/AIDS UNGASS will be pressing for agreement on actions required to scale up services towards universal access to a comprehensive programme of prevention, treatment and care, including access to PMTCT by 2010 with a "Road Map" for future action.
	DFID believes that PMTCT is an important prevention measure which should form part of a comprehensive response to HIV prevention, and has encouraged partner countries to integrate PMTCT plans into maternal and child health and sexual & reproductive health services.
	DFID funds are not earmarked for PMTCT, but integrated within AIDS programmes. DFID also works through UN agencies at country level. For example, DFID is currently providing £4 million to
	"a universal access to HIV prevention programme with the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Rwanda".
	DFID is the second largest donor to UNICEF which is the lead UN agency responsible for PMTCT services under the global task force (GTT) arrangements.

Maternal Health

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects his Department to meet its public service agreement targets on maternal health.

Hilary Benn: I expect the 2005-08 public service agreement target on maternal health in Asia to be met by 2008. I do not, however, expect the target on maternal health in Africa, to be met by 2008. Progress against this target after 2008 will therefore be subject to further discussion during the next spending review.
	The target for Asia is to achieve an increase of 15 percentage points in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants. The latest estimate is 43 per cent. using data from 2001 to 2003, compared to 38 per cent. in 2000. If the current rate of progress continues, it is estimated that the target should just be achieved by 2008.
	The target for Africa is to achieve an increase in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants by 11 percentage points. The latest estimate is 47 per cent. and increases before 2008 are unlikely. DFID has not yet estimated when this will be achieved.
	Further detail on the latest progress against these and all public service agreements will be presented in the 2006 Departmental Report which will be laid before Parliament in the next few days.

Millennium Development Goals

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the United Kingdom has made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and what recent assessment his Department has made of the time scale for the goals to be achieved.

Hilary Benn: The UK's contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals is summarised in DFID's reports of progress towards the 2003-06 and 2005-08 public service agreements (PSAs). Those PSAs are based on the Millennium Development Goals. Progress was last reported in the 2005 Autumn Performance Report which was laid before Parliament in December 2005. Copies of this report are available in the Libraries of the House on the DFID website (www.dfid.gov.uk). Progress will also be reported in DFID's 2006 Departmental Report. This will be laid before Parliament within the next few days.
	DFID has not yet made an assessment of the time scale for each of the goals to be achieved in the period after 2008. The departmental report will however, summarise progress in the key countries in which DFID works.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which of its public service agreement targets his Department is furthest from meeting.

Hilary Benn: The most recent assessment of progress towards the public service agreements was outlined in DFID's Autumn Performance Report, which was laid before Parliament in December 2005. Progress will also be reported in DFID's departmental report. This will be laid before Parliament in the next few days.
	The six targets in the 2005-08 public service agreement that are currently furthest from being met are:
	an increase in the ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary school by five percentage points in Africa;
	an increase in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants by 11 percentage points in Africa;
	an increase in net primary school enrolment by eight percentage points in Asia;
	a reduction in under-five mortality rates for girls and boys by 24 per 1000 live births in Asia;
	a tuberculosis case detection rate above 70 per cent. in Asia;
	a greater impact of EC external programmes on poverty reduction and working for agreement to increase the proportion of EC official development assistance (oda) to low income countries from its 2000 baseline figure of 38 per cent. to 70 per cent. by 2008.

Sexual Violence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to work with Governments in Africa  (a) to improve the status of women,  (b) to reduce the incidence of sexual violence, particularly during conflict, and  (c) to prosecute cases of sexual violence.

Hilary Benn: There is growing political consensus among member states of the African Union on promoting gender equality and empowerment. A Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was ratified in November 2005. A key element is the elimination of discrimination against women. DFID seeks to encourage and support African Governments in their work at country level to put this into practice. DFID has provided financial support to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), who has developed an African Gender and Development Index which shows specific gaps in the status of women at country level.
	DFID provides financial support for work to reduce violence against women and to provide support for legal assistance in a number of countries in Africa. For example, in Sierra Leone, DFID has provided support for Sexual Assault Referral Centres for victims of sexual assault and gender based violence; in Ethiopia it has provided core support to the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, who provide legal aid and assistance for issues affecting women; in Uganda DFID supports UNICEF's protection work in northern Uganda, one component of which aims to address sexual and gender based violence; and in Uganda and Ghana DFID provides support to programmes aimed at tackling domestic violence. DFID also provides financial support to the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) which supports the Trust Fund for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Women, Peace and Security Programme.

Sexual Violence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to assist the government of Liberia  (a) in reducing the incidence of rape and  (b) to prosecute rape cases effectively.

Hilary Benn: DFID funding to Liberia is mainly channelled through multilateral organisations, such as UN agencies, and the European Commission. To contribute to better public safety, and in response to a request from the UN Secretary General, DFID has recently provided £2.1 million to the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery in Liberia for support to the deactivation of unqualified Liberian National Police (LNP) Officers. The LNP is responsible for maintaining law and order, investigating crime, collecting evidence and arresting and remanding suspects pending trial. Effective reform and rebuilding of the LNP would be a significant step towards providing more security for people, including women. DFID has also contributed £6 million to the disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration process since 2003, improving safety and security for the population.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the trend in the number of severely malnourished children in Darfur over recent months.

Hilary Benn: The massive international response to the Darfur crisis led to a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation last year, including in rates of malnutrition. Since January, however, rising levels of violence, lawlessness and displacement, together with a shortfall in donor funding for this year, threaten to reverse the progress that has been made.
	UNICEF has recently warned of a risk of rising malnutrition. They have also reported instances of increasing rates of children being admitted to feeding centres, in line with what would be expected at this time of year because of the changing seasons. However, with the exception of localised pockets, malnutrition rates currently remain below the emergency threshold, and are significantly better than this time last year.
	UNICEF's warning underlines the urgent need to end the violence in Darfur, to allow humanitarian agencies unrestricted access, and for donors to increase their funding for the 2006 appeal. The UK has been one of the few donors providing early and reliable funding to the crisis in Darfur in 2006. We continue to press our international donor partners to contribute more, and we are also working with the UN to find ways of mitigating the impact of the current shortfall of funding.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of recent statements by the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs regarding the state of the relief operation in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: We share the concerns raised by Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. As he noted, the security situation has deteriorated dramatically since January, with increasing levels of banditry, armed clashes and attacks on civilians and UN and NGO staff. This rising level of insecurity threatens to reverse progress made in 2005. Over the last four months alone, 200,000 people have been driven from their homes by the violence. The ability of the UN and NGOs to access the most vulnerable people is becoming a critical issue with no or very limited access to up to 650,000 people in Darfur.
	As Mr Egeland rightly identified, these problems are compounded by the increase in restrictions and administrative delays imposed on humanitarian agencies by the Government of Sudan. We continue to press the Government for unimpeded and safe access for the humanitarian agencies. We hope that a conclusion to the Abuja peace process will aid this process.
	The UK has played a leading role in the international community's response to Darfur, including support to the Abuja process. The UK is one of the few donors providing early and reliable funding to the humanitarian effort in 2006. We continue to press our international donor partners to contribute more, and we are also working with the UN to mitigate the impact of the current funding shortfall and security-related issues.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of malnutrition in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The massive international response to the Darfur crisis led to a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation last year, including in rates of malnutrition. Since January, rising levels of violence, lawlessness and displacement, together with a shortfall in donor funding for this year, threaten to reverse the progress that has been made.
	UNICEF has recently warned of a risk of rising malnutrition. They have also reported instances of increasing rates of children being admitted to feeding centres, in line with what would be expected at this time of year because of the changing seasons. However, with the exception of localised pockets, malnutrition rates currently remain below the emergency threshold, and are significantly better than this time last year.
	UNICEF's warning underlines the urgent need to end the violence in Darfur, to allow humanitarian agencies unrestricted access, and for donors to increase their funding for the 2006 appeal. The UK has been one of the few donors providing early and reliable funding to the crisis in Darfur in 2006. We continue to press our international donor partners to contribute more, and we are also working with the UN to find ways of mitigating the impact of the current shortfall of funding.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Avian Influenza

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what preparations have been made for civil contingency planning in the event of an avian influenza epidemic.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has robust disease control plans and instructions to address an avian influenza epidemic in birds. These are set but in our Exotic Animal Disease Generic Contingency Plan, which is available on the Defra website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/avianinfluenza-contplan.htm.
	These plans and procedures are kept under closer review. They were tested recently during the national avian influenza exercise 'Hawthorn'. They were also used effectively to deal with the case of H5N1 avian influenza in a swan in Cellardyke, Scotland and the recent outbreak of H7N3 avian influenza in Norfolk. We also continue to work very closely with operational partners including the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), the Department of Health, the Health Protection Agency, the Food Standards Agency, and the devolved administrations.
	In addition, my Department has been actively involved in Department of Health-led planning in the event of an influenza pandemic. This is to ensure consistency and the sharing of expertise and experience.

Carcase Transportation

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will seek to legislate to require animal carcases to be transported in  (a) sealed and  (b) refrigerated lorries.

Ben Bradshaw: The Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 lays down strict rules for the collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of all animal by-products, which includes the carcases of fallen stock, in order to safeguard public and animal health.
	Animal by-products must be collected and transported in leak-proof, covered vehicles or containers in accordance with Annex II of the EU Regulation. Local authorities, usually Trading Standards, are the enforcement authority for animal by-products legislation and are responsible for ensuring the conditions of the Regulation are complied with.
	Transportation in a refrigerated vehicle is not a specific requirement of Annex II of the Regulation, unless the material is unprocessed Category 3 material destined for the production of feed material or pet food, when it must be transported chilled or frozen unless it is processed within 24 hours of departure. In other cases the transportation of animal by-products must take place at an appropriate temperature to avoid any risk to public or animal health and take place without undue delay. In all cases vehicles must be maintained in a clean condition, and be clean and dry before use, and washed and disinfected after use.
	In addition, under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities have a duty to check their areas periodically for existing and potential statutory nuisances, and to take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of statutory nuisances, including any dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance. A "premises" may be a dwelling, place of business, land, beach, vessel or sea.
	Once satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists or may occur or recur, a local authority must issue an abatement notice requiring that the nuisance be ceased or abated within a specified timescale. It is an offence to breach or fail to comply with an abatement notice, which carries upon summary conviction through the courts a maximum fine up £5,000 for domestic premises and £20,000 for industrial, trade and industry premises.
	Some plants and processes that have the potential for emissions of offensive odours are regulated under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, which are enforced by either the Environment Agency or local authorities depending on the type of installation. Plants and processes that are covered by these regulations are not subject to the statutory nuisance regime, in order to remove double jeopardy.
	Vehicles on public highways are not "premises" within the statutory nuisance regime on odour. However, vehicles driven in a careless or antisocial manner (that is causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress) may be seized by the police under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.

Cetaceans

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the European Commission,  (b) France and  (c) other EU member states regarding actions necessary to reduce cetacean by-catch.

Ben Bradshaw: A European Commission Technical Working Group met on 20 April to discuss the problems member states had been having with implementing the use of acoustic devices (pingers) in gillnet and entangle net fisheries and possible ways forward. The Commission will report back to the Council Internal Fisheries Group.

Cetaceans

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department has  (a) allocated and  (b) spent on scientific research into preventing cetacean strandings in UK waters since 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK Government has spent £734,000 on researching by-catch mitigation measures and monitoring by-catch on vessels from 03/04 to the end of 05/06. Strandings data is obtained separately under the Defra-funded Cetacean and Turtle Stranding Scheme, carried out by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology and Scottish Agricultural College.

Cetaceans

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2506W, on cetacean by-catch, when he expects the Sea Mammal Research Unit to publish its report on observer schemes investigating cetacean by-catch.

Ben Bradshaw: The Sea Mammal Research Unit is due to present a report to the Department on observer schemes investigating cetacean by-catch on completion of the research contract in spring 2007. However, results of observer schemes will be used to fulfil the obligations of Council Regulation (EC) 812/2004 and the first information will be available when the UK Government reports to the Commission on 1 June 2006 on by-catch monitoring in specified fisheries.

Incinerators

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the  (a) frequency and  (b) potential health consequences of the emission from municipal incinerators of PM2.5 particles.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 2 May 2006
	Following the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Waste not, Want not, published in 2002, Defra commissioned an independent body to bring together information on waste management facilities, including municipal incinerators, currently used in the UK and Europe, and the currently available scientific evidence on their environmental and health effects.
	The resulting Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes report; was peer reviewed by the Royal Society and published in May 2004. Among the other conclusions drawn, the report showed that risks to human health from incineration are small in comparison with other known risks to health.
	Emissions from municipal incinerators of PM2.5 particles (estimated at 0.029 thousand tonnes in 2004) are proportionally lower than the contribution from other sectors, at around 0.03 per cent. of the national total of 104 thousand tonnes. The major sources of PM2.5 are thought to be road transport (27 per cent.), domestic combustion (14 per cent.), agriculture, (8 per cent.) industrial off road machinery (7 per cent.) power stations (4 per cent.) and small scale waste burning (4 per cent.). However, this fraction of national emissions will not represent the level of human exposure arising from each source sector as a result of the different heights and conditions of release.
	Defra recently launched a consultation on measures to review the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This consultation suggests a much more wide ranging approach for pollutants such as fine particles (PM 2.5), which is cost effective, geared towards improving public health in the UK and will lead to further improvements in air quality. Further details on this consultation can be found on the Defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/airqualstrat-review/index.htm

Resource Efficiency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on improving resource efficiency.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department receives a range of representations on the subject of improved resource efficiency.
	One of the main Government initiatives encouraging resource efficiency s the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme, which is returning £284 million from additional landfill tax to businesses over three years. The Programme helps to ensure that advice and assistance are available to help businesses achieve waste reductions and other resource savings in the most effective ways.
	The Programme is being developed in full consultation with stakeholders. The Department is currently consulting with stakeholders on the third year of the Programme's delivery, beginning with a stakeholder event on 5 May. A selection of funding options will then be put forward for a full 12 week public consultation in August.

Sakhalin II Development

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's funding for Shell's proposed Sakhalin II development with the Government's proposed resolutions at the International Whaling Commission on protecting the Western Gray Whale from anthropogenic impact.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government are fully aware of the environmental issues associated with this project including any potential impact on the Western Gray Whale. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) and other members of the lender group are treating these issues very seriously and the group's concerns have been reflected in improvements made by the project operators to the project's social and environmental standards.
	In December 2005 EBRD Management agreed that all documentation required for beginning a public consultation process was "fit for purpose". A 120 day public consultation period ended on 28 April. EBRD Management is now considering all written responses received and additional representations from public consultation meetings.
	If EBRD Management recommends to its Board that the project should receive EBRD funding, then the UK Government will decide in the light of the case made by EBRD on the project operators' response to concerns raised, whether or not to support an EBRD loan. In reaching its decision, the Government will carefully assess all aspects of the project, bearing in mind its commitment to other International organisations.

Waste (Statutory Bodies)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce legislation to establish a statutory body with responsibility for waste.

Ben Bradshaw: In compliance with Article 6 of the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC as amended), the "competent authorities" which we have designated to be responsible for the implementation of the Directive's waste management controls are set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended). We have no plans to amend the current list of designated competent authorities.

Wind Farms

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Wales on  (a) the proposal (i) to delay and (ii) to cancel the issuing of a licence for the development of the offshore wind farm at Scarweather Sands and  (b) the effect of a wind farm for breeding harbour porpoises; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There has been no discussion with the Secretary of State for Wales. Licensing of the proposed offshore wind arm at Scarweather Sands is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
	My officials in the Marine Consents and Environment Unit, which is administering the licence application under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 on behalf of the Assembly, are in discussion with officials in the Welsh Assembly Government.
	No decision has yet been taken by the Assembly to grant a licence partly because of the decision taken by the developer to postpone construction for commercial reasons until 2008 and to allow further data currently being collected about the local population of harbour porpoises to be properly assessed.

TRANSPORT

A27 (Chichester)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on (i) the Highways Agency's plans for improvements to the A27 around Chichester and (ii) alternative methods of easing congestion.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State for Transport commissioned the South Coast Corridor Multi-Modal study (SoCoMMS) to investigate congestion, safety and environmental problems of transport on the South Coast between Southampton and Thanet.
	In July 2003, the Secretary of State rejected the recommended improvements to the A27 Chichester Bypass. The Highways Agency was asked to work closely with the principal local authorities and the statutory environmental bodies to identify and develop less environmentally damaging options for easing congestion, including management measures, which reduce the need for major road construction, and report back.

A27 (Chichester)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment was made of alternative methods of easing congestion before the Highways Agency published its proposals to improve the A27.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State for Transport commissioned the South Coast Corridor Multi-Modal study (SoCoMMS) to investigate congestion, safety and environmental problems of transport on the South Coast between Southampton and Thanet. At Chichester the report recommended two alternatives for addressing congestion on the A27. The Secretary of State rejected both these options on environmental grounds and asked the Highways Agency to work closely with the principal local authorities and the statutory environmental bodies to identify less environmentally damaging options, including management measures, which reduce the need for major road construction.
	A key requirement of any options identified was that they should be capable of delivering planned housing and economic growth. It was agreed that any options identified would be reported back to Ministers before more widespread local consultation was undertaken.
	A number of alternative junction improvement strategies were considered as part of developing the proposal put to public consultation but they did not meet the objectives set.

A27 (Chichester)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the Highways Agency's plans for improvements to the A27 around Chichester.

Stephen Ladyman: A joint Public Consultation exercise, between the Highways Agency and West Sussex county council was held in late 2004 and early 2005. To date the Highways Agency have received over 9,000 responses to their proposals, including many alternative suggestions for dealing with traffic problems in the Chichester area. Once I have received the Public Consultation Report from the Highways Agency later this year, I will announce my decision on the way forward.

A27 (Chichester)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on alternative methods for easing congestion around Chichester since the Highways Agency published proposals to improve the A27.

Stephen Ladyman: Since the Highways Agency's proposals were published I have received a petition from Mr. Pieter Montyn, signed by over 2,000 residents of the Manhood Peninsula, requesting an A27 northern bypass solution as a method for easing congestion around Chichester. Subsequently, I have received a copy of his presentation to the Highways Agency on his proposed A27 northern alignment route. All alternative suggestions made will be considered before I make my decision on the way forward later this year.

Aircraft Noise

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's definition is of excessive noise from aircraft; and what the World Health Organisation guidelines are on aircraft noise.

Derek Twigg: We have stated in consulting on our proposals for night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted that one of our broad aims is
	"to strike a fair balance between the protection of local communities from excessive aircraft noise levels at night and the provision of air services at night where they are of benefit to the national, regional or local economy".
	The expression 'excessive noise' does not apply to a specific level of aircraft noise. Based on research, the Government use various measurements of aircraft noise as indicators of disturbance or of potential annoyance, or as criteria for mitigation measures, including advice for land use planning purposes.
	The World Health Organisation has produced 'Guidelines on Community Noise'. The guideline values have regard to specific environments and effects rather than the source of noise, so there are no specific guidelines on aircraft noise. For each environment and situation, the guideline values take into consideration the identified health effects and are set based on the lowest levels of noise that affect health. Guideline values typically correspond to the lowest effect levels for general populations.
	The 'Guidelines on Community Noise' document, which sets out the full range of guideline values, is on the internet at the following address http://www.who.int/docstore/peh/noise/guidelines2.html

Aircraft Noise

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take in the Civil Aviation Bill to bear down on aircraft noise.

Derek Twigg: The 'Future of Air Transport' White Paper set out the combination of measures by which the Government aim to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise. These include promoting research and development into new low noise engine and airframe technologies. We have incorporated the key elements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's balanced approach to controlling noise at airports into UK law; EU directive 2002/49/EC requires periodic noise mapping at many airports from 2007 to identify day and night noise problems and, from 2008, action plans to deal with them.
	The Government have powers to regulate noise at airports designated for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports are currently so designated). This regulation includes departure noise limits and restrictions on night flying. We will also consider exercising similar powers at other airports if there is evidence that a major noise problem is not being dealt with adequately through local controls.
	The Civil Aviation Bill will give airports clear powers to impose penalties on airlines who fail to follow noise preferential routes and other procedures designed to avoid, limit or mitigate the effects of aircraft noise. In the case of airports designated for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, where the Secretary of State has specified noise controls, he will have the power to direct that a penalty scheme be made, amended or revoked to enforce those controls. It will be for the managers of non-designated airports to decide whether to use these powers in the light of their local circumstances.

Climate Change

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has  (a) made and  (b) plans to make of the effects of (i) regional transport strategies in England and (ii) the transport schemes listed as number one priorities in the regional funding allocations submitted by the regional assemblies on the Government's public sector agreement target for greenhouse gas emissions.

Stephen Ladyman: Regional transport strategies are subject to strategic environmental assessment, and the implications for greenhouse gas emissions will be carefully considered before strategies are approved. Advice put forward by regions on regional funding allocations sets out their proposals for affordable programmes of schemes. Decisions on each new scheme will remain subject to normal approval processes which take account of climate change impacts alongside other environmental, economic and safety factors.

Congestion (Greater Manchester)

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of traffic congestion in Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The 2002 survey of traffic speeds in urban areas estimated that the average vehicle delay, comparing actual speeds with those that would be achievable by a car in the absence of other traffic, for the routes surveyed in Greater Manchester was 17.8 seconds per vehicle kilometre. The average for all the urban areas surveyed was 24.9 seconds per vehicle kilometre. We have been developing new measures of congestion that are more meaningful in urban areas. Greater Manchester will publish a new local transport plan congestion target by July, along with a baseline for the new indicator.

Departmental Advertising Costs

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on advertising for job vacancies in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 25 April 2006
	The Department for Transport was established in May 2002.
	The Department uses the most appropriate publication for recruitment advertising, be it national, regional, trade magazine or website depending on the nature of the vacancy.
	The following table lists the costs incurred by DFT(Central) in recruitment advertising in all grades together with advertising senior civil service jobs with executive agencies:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-2003 241,868.87 
			 2003-2004 403,605.10 
			 2004-2005 472,277.65 
			 2005-2006 199,789.44 
		
	
	Advertising costs for recruitment below the senior civil service in DFT's executive agencies are as follows:
	
		
			  DVLA  £ 
			 2002-03 142,272.00 
			 2003-04 179,473.00 
			 2004-05 154,197.00 
			 2005-06 74,766.00 
			   
			  DSA  
			 2002-03 128,000.00 
			 2003-04 498,655.62 
			 2004-05 536,620.34 
			 2005-06 90,771.69 
			   
			  MCA  
			 2002-03 150,502.97 
			 2003-04 218,251.07 
			 2004-05 167,511.82 
			 2005-06 222,906.98 
			   
			  GCDA  
			 2002-03 22,965.00 
			 2003-04 16,361.00 
			 2004-05 22,546.00 
			 2005-06 6,900.00 
			   
			  VOSA  
			 2002-03 (1)326,503.00 
			 2003-04 530,267.00 
			 2004-05 399,889.00 
			 2005-06 263,738.00 
			   
			  HA  
			 2002-03 572,684.36 
			 2003-04 471,313.26 
			 2004-05 500,309.00 
			 2005-06 (2)1,017,294.00 
			   
			  VCA  
			 2002-03 12,709.00 
			 2003-04 2,800.00 
			 2004-05 6,755.00 
			 2005-06 750.00 
			 (1 )VI costs only (2 )Includes the recruitment of the traffic officer service

Departmental Initiatives

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the departmental initiatives for each year since 2000 which required bids for funding from  (a) voluntary organisations and  (b) local authorities together with the total resource allocated to each initiative in each year; how many successful bids there were in each year; what proportion this figure represents of the total bids received; and what assessment he has made of the costs of (i) preparing bids for each initiative and (ii) assessing those bids.

Stephen Ladyman: A table setting out the information on the major capital funding initiatives, for which bids were required, provided by the Department since 2000, has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Driving Instructors

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving instructors have been removed from the Register of Approved Driving Instructors due to convictions for sexual assault in each year since 1988; and how many days elapsed between conviction and removal in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Driving Standards Agency's records only show the number of Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) removed from the register since 1996-97, as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of ADIs removed following: 
			   Registrar's decision/resigned etc.  Registrar's decision 
			  1996 to 2002   
			 1996-97 2,633 ? 
			 1997-98 4,432 ? 
			 1998-99 3,787 ? 
			 1999-2000 2,356 ? 
			 2000-01 2,301 ? 
			 2001-02 3,017 ? 
			
			  2002 to 2006( 1)   
			 2002-03 ? 109 
			 2003-04 ? 103 
			 2004-05 ? 113 
			 2005-06(1) ? 84 
			 (1) Up to 28 February 2006. 
		
	
	The reason for removal from the Register following a decision by the Registrar is not recorded, nor is the time elapsed between any conviction and removal.
	The figures from the year 1996-97 to 2001-02 show both removal from the register following a decision by Registrar and those who chose to leave the register. The figures from 2002-03 show only those who were removed as a result of the Registrar's decision.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applicants with only one fully functioning eye have successfully applied to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for a driving licence in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: These data are not available. However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has estimated that it deals with in the region of 1,000 to 1,500 cases per year in which a loss of vision in one eye is either declared on a driving licence application form, or notified during the currency of a driving licence.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passports sent to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) were subsequently reported missing in each of the last 10 years; and how many owners of passports lost by the DVLA have claimed compensation.

Stephen Ladyman: Original documents (including passports) have been required to support applications for first photocard driving licences since April 1999. Statistics are only available for the past five years.
	Over this period the total number of passports reported as missing by drivers was 20,660 (14,968 UK and 5,692 foreign). To date 7,740 (5,282 UK and 2,458 foreign) have become the subject of claims for compensation. Approximately 25 per cent. can be attributed to a DVLA error in keying the address, with 75 per cent. due to non-delivery by Royal Mail. Over 12,500,000 applications for first photocard driving licences (ie those requiring the submission of identity documents) were processed during this period.
	Drivers are requested to wait for a minimum of 15 working days before contacting DVLA about non-delivery of documents, but in many cases they do not follow this advice. DVLA officials will investigate every report, but it is a fact that many drivers do not bother to ring back if the documents later turn up.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the additional average cost to each customer would be of secure delivery of passports returned by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority.

Stephen Ladyman: Holders of UK passports do not have to enclose them with their applications. Those who hold digitised passports only need to quote the passport number so that DVLA can check identity on line with the UK Passport Service. All other UK passport holders can have their applications checked at some 750 mainline post offices, and DVLA's local offices, for a small charge, with immediate return. Holders of EU passports, and those from certain designated countries, can take them for checking at three DVLA local offices (Glasgow, Nottingham, Wimbledon) and DVLA's Reception at Swansea.
	To introduce a standard system of charging for the return of passports (and other identity documents) would be viewed as unfair to those members of the public who have no need to submit them. If offered as an individual service on request this could amount to £10 at the very least (£4.10p special delivery/£2.50p courier service plus additional clerical involvement at DVLA).

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passports returned by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority have been delivered by  (a) standard mail and  (b) recorded delivery in the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: Original identity documents (including passports) have only been required to support applications for first photocard licences since April 1999. No historical data exists to distinguish between the use of standard and special/recorded mail, but current issue per day is 8,500 and 200 (97.7 per cent. and 2.3 per cent.).

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals were made  (a) to magistrates courts in England and Wales and  (b) to sheriffs' courts in Scotland against rulings of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency under the terms of section 92 and 100 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Statistics are available only from April 2003 onwards and relate to both applications refused under Section 92 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 and driving licences revoked under Section 93 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The details are given as follows.
	
		
			   Appeals lodged to magistrates courts in England and Wales  Appeals lodged to sheriffs' courts in Scotland  Total 
			 April 2003-March 2004 92 41 133 
			 April 2004-March 2005 126 45 171 
			 April 2005-March 2006 127 41 168

Ethanol

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential for the widespread use of ethanol as a fuel in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government strongly support the use of high quality biofuels in the road transport sector. In the short term, we estimate that bioethanol has the potential to make up some 5 per cent. of total petrol sales in the UK. The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) which we announced last year is designed to ensure that this happens by 2010, and is likely to mean that sales of bioethanol will amount to over a billion litres a year by that time.
	We have made clear that we intend that biofuels should account for more than 5 per cent. of total transport fuel sales after 2010 so long as infrastructural requirements and fuel and vehicle technical standards allow, and subject to the costs being acceptable to the consumer. We would also want to put in place robust carbon saving and sustainability assurance schemes to ensure that the biofuels sold in the UK were from sustainable sources and were delivering the maximum possible carbon savings.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects agreement to be reached on a programme of work designed to make the European Aviation Safety Agency fit for purpose.

Derek Twigg: The Civil Aviation Authority, together with officials in the Department, continues to work closely with the agency, other National Aviation Authorities and the Commission to put in place effective strategies to improve the agency's performance. The work that must be done to help EASA become fully fit for purpose has many different strands.
	The EASA management board on 26 April examined the agency's draft action plan for implementing recommendations made by external consultants to improve the agency's financial, administrative and IT processes. The board expects to approve the plan at its next meeting on 2 June.

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the First Great Western Trains timetabling proposals for December 2006 for  (a) intervals in service provision between Cardiff and Swansea during the evening peak time,  (b) overcrowding on Arriva Trains Wales services and  (c) train connection options for passengers travelling to Swansea on the proposed 1515 London Paddington to Cardiff service.

Derek Twigg: The number of other services, operated by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW), between Cardiff and Swansea will remain unchanged. Newer rolling stock is expected to be transferred to this route for December 2006. The Greater Western franchise specification was designed to improve the overall operational and financial performance of the train service and to ensure resources were used to best meet market needs. The timetable on each route, including London to Swansea, is derived from these requirements. The Department is discussing overcrowding with ATW.

Railways

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions within the past three months the Heathrow Express service has been  (a) delayed by more than 15 minutes and  (b) cancelled.

Derek Twigg: Heathrow Express is not a franchise operating company. The Department of Transport does not therefore hold such information.

Railways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed by the British Railways Board (Residuary); and what that body's budget was in 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: BRBR had 21 full-time and 6 part-time employees as at 31 March 2006. In addition during the 2005-06 financial year the company was supported by additional resources from the Strategic Rail Authority and the Department for Transport.
	BRBR's budget for 2005-06 was as follows.
	Operating costs (stated net of property sales)25.6 million
	Capital expenditure (relating to lease payments)7.8 million.

Railways

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the total projected public expenditure is for all forms of national rail services for  (a) London,  (b) each of the English Passenger Transport Executive areas and  (c) each of the English regions in each of the next six financial years;
	(2)  what the public expenditure was on all forms of national rail services for  (a) London,  (b) each of the English Passenger Transport Executive areas and  (c) each of the English regions in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: The Department of Transport does not hold information on Government spending and investment at a regional level. This is primarily because franchise areas often encompass two or more regions and Network Rail is structured on a route by route basis which also serves more than one region.
	Historic Government support to individual franchises is contained in the Annual Reports of the Strategic Rail Authority and in National Rail Trends, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
	My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State, made a written statement to Parliament on 10 February 2005,  Official Report, columns 93-96WS setting out Government spending plans for rail as a whole to 2008-09.

Railways

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider his decision on announcement boards on South-West Trains as a matter of urgency.

Derek Twigg: Continuing improvements to the availability and reliability of the existing Class 450 Desiro fleet, which have been introduced to replace Class 458s and the Mark One fleet, mean that by the end of July, when the exemption in question expires, there will be no rolling stock availability implications for the ability of South West Trains to deliver their current timetable.

Road Construction

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which construction companies have  (a) tendered for and  (b) been awarded road construction contracts by his Department since 1997; and how much each contract was worth.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 3 May 2006
	The information requested regarding which construction companies have tendered for road construction contracts with the Highways Agency since 1997 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	A list of the major road construction contracts over 5 million awarded by the Highways Agency has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Road Construction

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated carbon dioxide emissions from each  (a) motorway and  (b) trunk road scheme approved since 1997 were in each year of the operation of each such scheme; and what estimate he has made of the annual carbon dioxide emissions from each motorway and trunk road which is being assessed for inclusion in the roads programme.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 3 May 2006
	Carbon dioxide emission estimates for the Highways Agency motorway and trunk road schemes, in the Targeted Programme of Improvements, which was first launched in 1998, are given where data is currently available. A copy of the table showing this information has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Schemes that have not yet entered into the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI) do not have this information as the proposals are still at an early stage.

Road Schemes (Carbon Impact)

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirement there is under the New Approach to Appraisal to quantify the carbon dioxide impact of each road scheme he approves.

Stephen Ladyman: As part of assessing the impact of new proposals on the environment New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) requires scheme promoters to assess the impact of their proposals on greenhouse gas emissions. As carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered to be the most important greenhouse gas, changes in CO2 emissions are used as the key indicator for assessing the impacts of new proposals' on climate change.
	For all schemes that cost in excess of 5 million, which must be approved by the Secretary of State, the Department's guidance requires scheme promoters to estimate the level of carbon dioxide emissions in the current year and in the opening year of the scheme, both with and without the scheme in place. The change in carbon dioxide emissions in the opening year of the scheme is then used to provide an overall assessment of the scheme's impact on greenhouse gases. At present only carbon emissions associated with fuel consumption are considered in appraisal.

Speed Cameras

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the speed camera sites identified in the Review of Sites 2004 where casualties had not been reduced remain in place; at how many sites the speed cameras have been removed and alternative measures introduced to reduce casualties; and at how many of these sites the camera has been removed and no further action taken.

Stephen Ladyman: Following the publication of the site lists in 2004, the Department amended its Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the Safety Camera Programme to require safety camera partnerships to review existing sites as well as those areas where new sites might be appropriate.
	Sites are selected locally as the right solution to a particular casualty problem and it is therefore appropriate for these reviews to be undertaken locally and the Department is not involved. We do however require sites operated as part of, or removed from, the safety camera programme to be recorded.
	From the information held by the Department, 141 safety camera sites have been decommissioned between 1 January 2004 and 31 March 2006. The Department does not hold information relating to why these sites have been decommissioned or whether alternative measures have been introduced at these sites.

Speed Cameras

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in how many cases speed camera partnerships have had their applications for the siting of speed cameras  (a) accepted and  (b) rejected; what average time has been taken to make a decision on an application; for what average number of days cases that have not had a decision have been waiting; in how many cases the decision has been appealed; and how many of these appeals have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department requires that applications for new speed camera sites comply with the site selection criteria provided in the Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the Safety Camera Programme.
	For 2006-07, all sites submitted as proposed camera sites were approved as they fully met the site selection criteria. These sites were submitted during February 2006 and were approved by the end of March 2006.

Transport Improvements (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what transport improvements for which his Department is responsible have there been in Tamworth constituency in the past 12 months; what further improvements are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Tamworth constituency is benefiting from the Burntwood bypass local major road scheme, which was funded by the Department and completed in May 2005. In addition, local highway authorities receive integrated transport block funding which can be used for local highways or public transport capital projects. It is for Staffordshire county council, as the highway authority, to determine how that allocation has been spent, in line with its local transport plan and its priorities.
	In the last 12 months, the following Highways Agency schemes have been completed in the area:
	A5 Weeford-Fazeley Improvement
	A5 Tamworth bypassreplacement of porous asphalt
	A38 Milliards Cross to Swinfenrenewal of existing road surfacing
	A38 Swinfenlay-by resurfacing and improvements
	A5 through Hintsrenewal of anti skid surface
	A38/A5148 southbound free-flow link to alleviate congestion
	A5 Hints bypassmajor new road scheme to improve safety and journey time reliability
	A38 Little Hay footbridgenew footbridge constructed as part of Hints bypass
	The following Highways Agency schemes are either presently under construction or scheduled to begin in 2006-07:
	A38 Bassett's Polejunction improvement (traffic signals) to improve safety and journey time reliability, including signalisation of the island
	A5 Tamworth bypass Phase 2replacement of porous asphalt surface, including the slip roads at Stoneydelf and Glascote
	A38 Swinfenresurfacing of the northbound entry slip road
	A38 Swinfen Gapclosure of the central reservation gaps to improve safety
	A5 Tamworth bypassimprovements to the slip roads at Ventura Park and Fazeley to improve safety
	A5 Tamworth bypassecology improvements to an adjacent drainage area to enhance the habitat for great crested newts
	A38 Canwellinstallation of interactive signs and other signing improvements to improve safety
	The following Highways Agency schemes are also planned:
	A38 Weeford Quarry to CanwellResurfacing works
	Additionally, a number of Section 278 development schemes are being undertaken by external organisations with consent from the Highways Agency. These are as follows:
	A38 Swinfen Prisonprovision of acceleration lane at prison access.
	A5 Bitterscote, Tamworthprovision of new roundabout junction at existing Bitterscote junction to access development site
	A5 Wallpotential alterations to existing roundabout junction
	A38 WeefordPotential improvements to the access at Blackbrook Farm
	On rail, the Trent Valley four tracking scheme on the West Coast Main Line which falls within Tamworth and started in 2003 will provide 19km of an additional two tracks at a cost of 327 million. This is expected to be complete in 2008.

Transport Subsidies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 April 2006,  Official Report, column 713W, on transport subsidies, how much subsidy for public transport was allocated by his Department to  (a) Hampshire county council,  (b) Portsmouth city council and  (c) Southampton city council in each of the last five years in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Stephen Ladyman: The amount of subsidy for integrated transport allocated by the Department to Hampshire county council; Portsmouth city council; and Southampton city council in the last five years is shown in the following tables. Integrated transport funding is used by the local authorities to fund all non-maintenance transport investment schemes costing less than 5 millionsmall road projects, road safety schemes, bus priority schemes, walking and cycling schemes, as well as transport information schemes. It is for the councils concerned to decide how much should be allocated to public transport.
	In addition Hampshire county council and Portsmouth city council have received funding for the A3 bus corridor as shown in the table.
	
		
			  (a)(i) Cash terms 
			   million 
			  Nature of funding for Hampshire county council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 13.500 13.204 14.393 15.783 13.492 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 1.603 2.043 2.143 1.375 1.429 
			 Major Scheme  0.750 2.254 7.500 6.600 
			 Total 15.103 15.997 18.790 24.658 21.521 
		
	
	
		
			  (a)(ii) Real terms 
			   million (2005 prices) 
			  Nature of funding for Hampshire county council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 14.957 14.388 15.242 16.231 13.492 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 1.776 2.226 2.269 1.414 1.429 
			 Major Scheme  0.817 2.387 7.713 6.6 
			 Total 16.733 17.431 19.899 25.358 21.521 
		
	
	
		
			  (b)(i) Cash terms 
			   million 
			  Nature of funding for Portsmouth city council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 2.100 3.470 2.282 3.002 2.099 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Major Scheme 1.000 1.200 2.888   
			 Total 3.100 4.670 5.170 3.002 2.099 
		
	
	
		
			  (b)(ii) Real terms 
			   million (2005 prices) 
			  Nature of funding for Portsmouth city council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 2.327 3.781 2.417 3.087 2.099 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Major Scheme 1.108 1..308 3.058 0 0 
			 Total 3.435 5.089 5.475 3.087 2.099 
		
	
	
		
			  (c)(i) Cash terms 
			   million 
			  Nature of funding for Southampton city council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 2.800 2.727 2.643 2.721 2.799 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 0 0.755 0 0 0 
			 Total 2.800 2.727 2.643 2.721 2.799 
		
	
	
		
			  (c)(ii) Real terms 
			   million (2005 prices) 
			  Nature of funding for Southampton city council  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 IT Block 3.102 2.972 2.799 2.798 2.799 
			 Bus Subsidy(1) 0 0.823 0 0 0 
			 Total 3.102 3.794 2.799 2.798 2.799 
			 (1) The figures comprise of Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG), and awards made under the Rural Bus Challenge, and Urban Bus Challenge funding.

Vehicle Registration

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of vehicles registered  (a) with false details and  (b) to a (i) false and (ii) non-existent address.

Stephen Ladyman: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) would refuse to record any details on the basis of information that it knew to be false, and therefore the information requested is not available. However, a recent survey estimated that 97.4 per cent. of vehicles can be traced directly or indirectly from the records held at DVLA.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Stephen Byers: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will review the basis on which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decides whether to bring a prosecution with a view to encouraging the CPS to be less risk averse when making such decisions.

Mike O'Brien: Each case the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) receives from the police is reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Application of the Code means that a case is prosecuted when there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction (the 'evidential test') and that the prosecution is in the public interest (the 'public interest test'). The Code is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under Section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and it is periodically reviewed by the CPS. The last review occurred in 2004 and included a public consultation exercise. The current edition of the Code was published in November 2004.
	Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) reviews CPS performance regarding the application of the Code. HMCPSI's 2004-05 annual report records that CPS average percentage compliance with the evidential test at initial review over the 2002-04 inspection cycle is at 98.6 per cent.; and the equivalent compliance with the public interest test is at 99.9 per cent. There are no current plans for a review of the Code.

DEFENCE

AWOL

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers on operational tour in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan went absent without leave in each quarter since January 2003.

Adam Ingram: There have been no reports of soldiers on operational tour in Iraq or Afghanistan going absent without leave (AWOL) over the period in question. However, this does not include those individuals who may have gone AWOL while returned partway through their tour of Iraq on rest and recuperation or for other reasons. This level of data is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on defence for each of the Crown Dependencies in each of the last 10 years.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom is responsible for the defence of the Crown Dependencies. There are no military forces specifically allocated to the provision of this task and, therefore, I am unable to identify separately the costs incurred in maintaining their defence.

Deepcut Review

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service and ex-service personnel were given advice by the Army Directorate of Personal Services on how to handle press inquiries following publication of the Deepcut review; how many individuals attended the lunch and briefing on 29 March; and if he will place a copy in the Library of the letter of invitation signed by Colonel N. C. C. Freeman, dated 20 March.

Adam Ingram: A total of 43 service and ex-service personnel received advice from the Directorate of Personal Service (Army) on how to handle media attention following the Deepcut review. Five of these individuals attended the briefing on 29 March 2006. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Deepcut Review

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals face disciplinary action following the report of the Deepcut Review.

Adam Ingram: The Army is currently examining the Deepcut Review report and associated documentation to see whether there is any evidence to suggest that a disciplinary offence may have been committed. In addition, the Army is examining the report for any indication of professional misconduct or negligence that might make administrative action appropriate.

Deepcut Review

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of the Deepcut Review was, broken down by main budget heading.

Adam Ingram: The total cost for the Deepcut Review currently stands at 919,718. Further costs are still expected, mainly concerning the recent publication of the report. The expenditure so far can be broken down into the following main areas:
	
		
			
			 Legal fees 810,309 
			 Facilities/support 85,417 
			 Press costs 23,992

Defence Logistic Organisation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations there have been with the recognised trade unions on Defence Logistic Organisation collocation proposals; and what responses have been received from the trade unions.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) meets regularly with industrial and non-industrial national level trade unions for discussions on both a formal and informal basis. Discussions in these forums have included DLO collocation proposals.
	Formal Trade Union consultation can only begin once I have made an initial decision on DLO collocation proposals. I expect to be in a position to do this in the summer of this year. The DLO will then begin formal trade union consultation and would expect to receive the trade unions' formal responses as part of that process. The DLO is committed to working with the trade union and has recently offered closer engagement on collocation.

Defence/ACPO Protocol

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the date was of implementation of the September 2005 Protocol between his Department and the Association of Chief Police Officers on the investigation of deaths on lands or premises owned, occupied or under the control of the Ministry of Defence; what the conclusions of the first annual review of the Protocol were; and what subsequent amendments were adopted on the  (a) content and  (b) operation of the Protocol.

Adam Ingram: The protocol was signed on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for Defence and a representative from the Association of Chief Police Officers on 7 November 2005 and was implemented immediately thereafter. The content and application of the protocol will be reviewed 12 months post implementation, in November 2006.

Departmental Publications

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) The Mole,  (b) Compass and  (c) Lynx publications issued since 2002.

Adam Ingram: The  Compass publication ceased in February 2000 and Lynx is an internal MOD website not a publication. To place in the Library copies of  The Mole issued since 2002 would incur disproportionate cost.

Eurofighter

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ground attack missile capability the Eurofighter will have.

Adam Ingram: The initial ground attack capability being planned for RAF Typhoon will use the Enhanced Paveway precision guided bomb. Integration of subsequent weapons is being considered under the Typhoon Future Capability Programme. From a ground attack missile perspective these include the Storm Shadow cruise missile and the Brimstone air-launched anti-armour weapon.

Hercules Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, columns 6-7W, on Hercules aircraft, what his definition is of  (a) directional infra-red defensive counter-measures and  (b) lamp infra red counter measure; what the purposes are of each measure; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The lamp infra red counter measure provides omni-directional protection against infra red guided missiles by projecting broadband jamming energy. The directional infrared counter measure utilises attack warning sensors to focus the jamming system towards the threat.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what delays there have been in delivering Warrior armoured personnel carriers to British forces in Iraq over the last four months; what the reasons were for the delays; and what alternative arrangements have been made to safeguard the security of the troops affected.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 2 May 2006
	There have been minor delays over the past few weeks to the delivery of replacement Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles for the Operation Telic 8 roulement. This has been due to technical difficulties experienced by the merchant vessel carrying these vehicles while in transit. This delay has had no impact on the security of British forces or Warrior capability in Iraq; existing vehicles were retained in service until the replacement vehicles were ready.

Iraq/Afghanistan

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times UK personnel have undertaken unarmed aerial vehicles strikes in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan since military operations began; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 April 2006
	UK personnel have been involved in five unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in Iraq, and one in Afghanistan.

Joint Strike Fighter

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an  (a) memorandum of understanding and  (b) exchange of letters between the United States and the United Kingdom on the joint strike fighter programme includes a provision guaranteeing the transfer of technology.

Adam Ingram: The Memorandum of Understanding for the current phase of the programme contains provisions for the exchange of information to enable the participants to meet their respective requirements. In addition the Exchange of Letters (EoLs) signed in 2001 articulates the areas of military and industrial capability that are necessary to satisfy UK sovereign requirements. The EoLs do not contain a provision on guaranteeing transfer of technology. The UK remains committed to working closely with the US administration to resolve the issue of technology sharing and we are optimistic that our ongoing discussions will be successful.

Kieran Heggarty

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the result was of the Royal Military Police investigation into the death of Kieran Heggarty in Moscow Army Barracks on Sunday 19 February 2006.

Adam Ingram: The Royal Military Police have not carried out any investigation into the death of Kieran Hegarty at Moscow Camp, Belfast on 19 February 2006 as the Police Service of Northern Ireland has jurisdiction in this matter.

Merchant Fleet

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006,  Official Report, column 2208W, on the merchant fleet, what the  (a) year of use and  (b) type of vessel was in each case.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is shown in the following table. The list also shows the financial year in which each vessel was chartered. Some vessels will have been chartered towards the end of one financial year, with use continuing into the following financial year.
	
		
			  Ship name  Flag  Type 
			  Financial year 2000-01   
			 Aldebaran Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Arneb German Ro-ro 
			 Arroyofrio Uno Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Baltic Eagle Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Britta Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Cap Afrique French Ro-ro 
			 Cidade de Funchal Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Dart 1 Romanian Ro-ro 
			 Eclipse French Ro-ro 
			 Leopold Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Loverval Luxembourg Ro-ro 
			 Maersk Teal Singapore Ro-ro 
			 Maj Danielsen Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Marianne Danica Danish Lo-lo 
			 Mont Ventoux Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Saint Brandan British Lo-lo 
			 Sea Bird Danish Lo-lo 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Sondos UAE Ro-ro 
			 Stena Shipper British Ro-ro 
			 Tango Romanian Ro-ro 
			 Thor Sofia Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Wloclawek Maltese Ro-ro 
			
			  Financial year 2001-02   
			 Alblasgracht Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Aleksandrov Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Arcturus Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Astra Sea Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Baltic Eagle Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Baltic Link Dutch Ro-ro 
			 Bazias 1 Romanian Ro-ro 
			 BBC Colombia Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Blue Moon Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Breant British Ro-ro 
			 Brittaoden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Cap Afrique French Ro-ro 
			 CEC Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Eclipse French Ro-ro 
			 Etly Danielsen Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Feedercadet Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Hereford Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Juris Avots Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Marianne Danica Danish Lo-lo 
			 Norse Mersey Italian Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Ocean Bird Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pegasus Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Sarawak Singapore Ro-ro 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Southern Carrier Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Sun Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Tancred Norwegian Ro-ro 
			 Thebeland British Ro-ro 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Futura Danish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Minerva Danish Ro-ro 
			 Tyrusland British Ro-ro 
			 Velazquez Spanish Ro-ro 
			
			  Financial year 2002-03   
			 Adriana Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Aegean Pearl Greek Ro-ro 
			 Anna Desagnes Canadian Lo-lo 
			 Anna Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Arroyofrio Uno (DOS) Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Astra Sea Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Finland Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Germania Liberian Lo-lo 
			 BBC Gibraltar Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 BBC Rheiderland British Lo-lo 
			 Beatrixhaven Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Birka Forest Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Blue Moon Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Brave Merchant British Ro-ro 
			 Britta Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Calibur Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Cervantes Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Clipper Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Dart 8 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Dart 9 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Fast challenger Egyptian Ro-ro 
			 Feedercadet Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Genova Bridge St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Hebrides British Car ferry 
			 Hereford Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Johnny Maltese Lo-lo 
			 Jolly Giallo Italian Ro-ro 
			 Kapitan Vaga Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Kaptan Burhanettin Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Karincat Danish Lo-lo 
			 LA Surprise Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Laura St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Light Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Lince St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Lyra Antigua Ro-ro 
			 Maersk Ramsey British Tanker 
			 Magdalena Green Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 NDS Prominence Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Nord 1 St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Pacific Winner Marshall Islands Ro-ro 
			 Pancaldo Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Panthera Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pasewalk Liberian Ro-ro 
			 Passat Antigua and Barbuda Semi-submersible 
			 Project Europa Netherlands Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Roy Maersk Danish Tanker 
			 Sea Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Sea Runner Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Shippersgracht Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Schackenborg Cayman Islands Ro-ro 
			 Skanderborg Cayman Islands Ro-ro 
			 Smit Enterprise Bahamas Semi-submersible 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Southern Trader Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Stadiongracht Dutch Lo-lo 
			 Stena Shipper British Ro-ro 
			 Strada Gigante Italian Ro-ro 
			 Thebeland British Ro-ro 
			 Thor Falcon Danish Lo-lo 
			 Tiger Danish Lo-lo 
			 Tobias Maersk British Lo-lo 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Traden Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Tychy Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 3 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 4 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 5 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ursula Marshall Islands Lo-lo 
			 Velazquez Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Vikingland British Ro-ro 
			 Wind Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Wloclawek Maltese Ro-ro 
			
			  Financial year 2003-04   
			 Anna Oden Italian Ro-ro 
			 Aqua Star Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Sweden Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 Blackrock British Tanker 
			 CEC Cardiff Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Faith Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Danica Sunbeam Danish Lo-lo 
			 Dart 10 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Dicksi Norwegian Tanker 
			 Longstone British Ro-ro 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 Pancaldo Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pasewalk Liberian Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Scan Germania Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Scan Polaris Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Stena Foreteller Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Anglia British Ro-ro 
			 Traden Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Vikingland British Ro-ro 
			
			  Financial year 2004-05   
			 Anglian Prince UK Tug 
			 Anna Johanna Danish Tanker 
			 Barmouth British Tanker 
			 Ben Ellan Isle of Man General cargo 
			 Ben Maye Isle of Man General cargo 
			 Bore Mari Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Bremer Forest Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 CEC Cardiff Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Fighter Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CSO Marianos Bahamas Diving support vehicle 
			 Fairplay 22 Antigua and Barbuda Tug 
			 Forth Fisher British Tanker 
			 Hebrides British Car ferry 
			 Laura M UK Multi-role Vessel 
			 Lesley M UK Workboat/multicat 
			 Mary M UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 MSV Fennica Norway Multi-role Vessel 
			 Pantanal Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Patria Antigua Lo-lo 
			 Portree II UK Multi-role vessel 
			 RRS Ernest Shackleton UK Polar research/sub sea support vessel 
			 Sirocco Panama Tug 
			 Stena Foreteller Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Stevns Pearl Danish Lo-lo 
			 Suzanne D Dutch Anchor handling vessel 
			 Thorax Norway Tug 
			
			  Financial year 2005-06( 1)   
			 Atlantic Osprey British Ro-ro 
			 BBC Denmark Netherland Antilles Lo-lo 
			 Bibby Sapphire Panama Dive support vehicle 
			 Bourbon Chieftain NISNorwegian Offshore Registry Anchor handling vessel 
			 CEC Blue Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Comenda Portugal Tug 
			 Condock 1 Netherland Antilles Ro-ro 
			 Condock 3 Gibraltar Ro-ro 
			 EMU Surveyor UK Survey vessel 
			 Fairplay 22 Antigua and Barbuda Tug 
			 Korsoer Antigua and Barbuda Ro-ro 
			 Looiersgracht Dutch Lo-lo 
			 Medway Otter UK Workboat 
			 Medway Rhino UK Workboat 
			 MSV Fennica Norway Multi-role vessel 
			 Naomi E Dutch Multi-role vessel 
			 Portree II UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Santa Ines Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Sarah Grey UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Seastudio UK Workboat Targa 37 
			 Severn Fisher Gibraltar Tanker 
			 Skaftafell Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 Sloman Commander Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Thorax Norway Tug 
			 Zeran Maltese Ro-ro 
			 (1) To date 13 February 2006  Note: Lo-lo = Load on-load off Ro-ro = Roll on-roll off

Merchant Fleet

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of chartering merchant vessels for activities connected with  (a) the Falklands War 1982,  (b) the Gulf war 1991 and  (c) the Iraq war 2003.

Adam Ingram: The cost of chartering merchant vessels for the initial deployment for Operation Telic was approximately 31 million. Records are no longer held for the charter costs for Operation Corporate (Falklands) and Operation Granby (Gulf).

Military Discipline

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions a unit's commanding officer has been overruled by the chain of command on a decision not to prosecute an offence against a member of that unit in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 May 2006
	None. When a commanding officer exercises his power to dismiss a charge, that decision is final, it cannot be overruled, and the charge cannot be tried in the military justice system.

Ministerial Cars (Fuel Costs)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the fuel costs were for ministerial cars used by his Department in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: With the exception of the Secretary of State's vehicle which is provided by the Government Car and Despatch Service, estimated fuel costs for the Ministry of Defence's ministerial cars are between 8,000 and 10,000 per annum over the last five financial years, based on an average mileage of 15,000 and an urban fuel consumption of 25mpg.

Ministry of Defence Stores

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the value of its stores lodged with its contractors and subsequently found either to be lost or otherwise unavailable for his Department's purposes in each of the financial years since April 1999.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 April 2006
	The only information centrally available over the period since April 1999 is the value of financial recoveries notified to the Ministry of Defence's Asset Accounting Centre. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 1650-51W.
	Further information is held by asset owners and other branches dispersed throughout the Department but could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Nuclear Waste

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of dealing with nuclear waste arising from defence projects in each of the last five years; and from which budgets these costs are met.

Adam Ingram: The following table details the costs incurred against the running cost element of the defence budget in each of the last five years, in dealing with nuclear waste arising from defence projects.
	
		
			  Financial years  Cost ( million) 
			 2000-01 213 
			 2001-02 201 
			 2002-03 241 
			 2003-04 188 
			 2004-05 253

Porton Down

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which experiments at Porton Down are undertaken only on animals; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Dstl Porton Down only undertakes research involving the use of animals when other in vitro, physical and computer modelling methods are unsuitable. All research is conducted in accordance with the principles of the 3R's and under the provisions of the Animal Scientific Procedures Act 1986.
	In the last year research involving animals has been undertaken as part of the following areas of the MOD's research programme, novel haemorrhage control; burn protection; treatment of acute lung injury; and medical counter-measures.

Porton Down

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals have been used in experiments at Porton Down in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) breed and  (b) procedures carried out.

Adam Ingram: Dstl Porton Down submits annual returns to the Home Office detailing the number of procedures undertaken which involve the use of animals as defined in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
	In the years 2000 to 2005 the annual returns to the Home Office, broken down by species are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Guinea Pig 587 727 644 653 506 661 
			 Ferret 0 0 0 0 42 60 
			 Hamster 24 0 0 70 0 0 
			 Mouse 10,856 11,944 14,874 12,645 14,737 20,016 
			 Pig 106 23 88 131 80 127 
			 Rabbit 19 23 24 22 12 3 
			 Rat 350 125 268 355 320 195 
			 Sheep 9 45 0 0 0 2 
			 Cattle 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Non-human primate 34 68 42 23 30 54 
			 Total 11,985 12,955 15,940 13,899 15,728 21,118

Project Hyperion

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will announce his decisions on Project Hyperion.

Adam Ingram: Work to consider the benefits of rationalisation and collocation of the two main Army HQsHQ LAND and HQ Adjutant General is still ongoing. I intend to inform the House about the final size and structure of the new HQ towards the end of this year. I hope that a formal announcement about the future location for the new headquarters may be made in the summer.

RAF

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many combat fighter aircraft are in service use by the RAF, broken down by type.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the number of air defence aircraft that are planned to be in service with the RAF at the end of the present Financial Year.
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Total fleet 
			 Tornado F3 82

RAF

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ground attack aircraft are in service with the RAF, broken down by type; and what plans he has to replace them.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the number of offensive support aircraft that are planned to be in service with the RAF at the end of the present financial year.
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Fleet number 
			 Jaguar GR 13 
			 Harrier GR 73 
			 Tornado GR 139 
		
	
	These offensive support aircraft will be progressively replaced by Typhoon and the Joint Combat Aircraft over the next two decades.

RAF

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF  (a) Harrier GR7 and  (b) Jaguar aircraft are (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows, for end-March 2006, the numbers of Harrier GR and Jaguar aircraft that were planned to be in service and that were fit for purpose.
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Total fleet  Numbers of aircraft fit for purpose (average Financial Year 2005-06)( 1) 
			 Harrier GR7/9(2) 73 22 
			 Jaguar(3) 45 20 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2 )Harrier GR7 FFP figures are not held separately hence the total fleet and FFP numbers shown are for both GR7 and GR9 aircraft. (3) Jaguar numbers include training aircraft. 
		
	
	Aircraft are deemed fit for purpose if they are capable of undertaking the required task on a given day. Aircraft are not available for tasking if they are undergoing scheduled maintenance, modification programmes or any other unforeseen rectification work that can arise on a day to day basis. The figures do not reflect the fact that an aircraft assessed as not fit for purpose may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet the operational need.

Robert Nairac

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will release the full files relating to the death of Robert Nairac in Northern Ireland in 1977.

Adam Ingram: Due to the date of this incident the relevant files are stored in archives. It will take some time to identify, retrieve and subsequently consider the material for release. I will write to the hon. Member with an update at the earliest opportunity and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate the naval staff have made of the total number of Type 45 destroyers required by the fleet.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 May 2006
	Requirements are set by the Ministry of Defence's Central Staff. The 2004 Defence White Paper 'Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities' stated our requirement for eight Type 45 destroyers. However, the delivery of this is dependent on industry demonstrating an affordable solution.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Type 45 destroyers would be  (a) required to relieve and  (b) likely to be in upkeep in order to sustain the availability of four Type 45 destroyers for front-line service.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 May 2006
	That would depend on many factors. The 2004 Defence White Paper 'Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities' stated a requirement for eight Type 45 destroyers. From a fleet of this size six ships would be available for operations at any one time.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce the total number of Type 45 destroyers to be built.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 May 2006
	In July 2004, my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State announced plans for a class of eight Type 45 destroyers, of which six are on order. Formal approval, and a subsequent order, for ships seven and eight will be made at the appropriate time.

Warships

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what progress he has made with the disposal of surplus ex-Ministry of Defence vessels; what Government policy is on the disposal of such vessels; and what the position is regarding the disposal of  (a) HMS Intrepid and  (b) the (i) Newcastle, (ii) Glasgow and (iii) Cardiff Type 42 frigates;
	(2)  what discussions have taken place between his Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on facilitating the de-equipping and dismantling of surplus warships in the United Kingdom.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence officials have had a number of discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the preparation of the UK Ship Recycling Policy. This policy will include clear guidelines for the recycling of ex-MOD vessels and is currently subject to consultation with stakeholders.
	Current MOD policy is that once any possibilities for sale for further use have been exhausted, ships are then considered for recycling in accordance with environmental regulations.
	At present there are no yards which meet UK Environmental Agency standards for recycling. A number of UK yards have, however, applied for Waste Management licences. The MOD continues to explore options for recycling at yards within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In the meantime, Intrepid, having been identified as being suitable only for recycling, remains at Portsmouth Naval Base.
	A range of disposal options are under consideration for the Type 42 ships Newcastle, Glasgow and Cardiff.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Act of Union

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what activities the Government are planning to mark the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans at present to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Act of the Union.

BBC Licence Fee

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration her Department will give to the interests of the commercial broadcasting sector when examining the BBC's licence fee bid.

Tessa Jowell: The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the level of the television licence fee from April 2007. All relevant issues will be taken into account as part of this review. The process has been designed to include an opportunity for stakeholders, including commercial broadcasters, to comment on the BBC's bid as part of a public seminar on May 5 chaired by Lord Burns, who has served as my independent advisor on Charter Review.

BBC Licence Fee

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultation process will be carried out in advance of her making a decision on the level of the BBC's licence fee; and who will be included in that consultation.

Tessa Jowell: Lord Burns, the independent adviser on the BBC Charter Review, will be chairing a public seminar on the BBC licence fee on 5 May 2006 to which other broadcasters have been invited including ITV, Channel 4, Five and BSkyB. The debate generated by this seminar will form part of the evidence base for setting the future level of the licence fee. In preparation for this seminar, we have invited written submissions on the future funding of the BBC from interested parties. We are also commissioning survey research on the public's willingness to pay for the BBC.

BBC Licence Fee

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will invite  (a) the National Audit Office and  (b) the Public Accounts Committee to assess the cost-effectiveness of the BBC's licence fee bid.

Tessa Jowell: In line with the commitment in the Green Paper, A strong BBC, independent of government, to take independent advice as part of the review of the BBC's future funding needs, the Government commissioned PKF to examine the assumptions underlying the BBC's future funding proposals. On 26 April the Government published PKF's report Review of the BBC Value for Money and Efficiency Programmessubject to genuine issues of confidentiality. We see no need to duplicate that work.

Children's Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many nursery and crche places are provided for people working in her Department; what charges are made for the provision of such services; and what other facilities are provided for children of employees of her Department.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides a range of support for people with childcare needs.
	The Department participates in the Westminster Holiday Playscheme, costing 25 per day per child, of which the Department subsidises half. There is not a set number of allocated places to the Department and places for this scheme are offered on a first come, first served basis.
	The Department offers childcare vouchers through a salary sacrifice scheme to provide parents with maximum flexibility in choosing the childcare most suited to their needs. DCMS meets the cost of administration which is 5.5 per cent. of the value of vouchers taken by staff. Currently there are nine members of staff who take advantage of this scheme.
	The Department has also introduced the Family Life Solutions service for all staff (a free and confidential telephone helpline service offering support to people with caring responsibilities and information on a range of issues, including childcare). The cost of this for the Department is approximately 1,500 per year for 520 staff.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions she has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Paragraph 5.28 of the ministerial code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Departmental Staff

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) women and  (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (1) 1997 and (2) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (A) women and (B) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

David Lammy: The following table present the average salary for men and women in DCMS and women's salary as a percentage difference to men's for the years 2002 and 2006. Data for 1997 is unavailable.
	
		
			  Grade  Men ()  Women ()  Percentage difference 
			  2002
			 SCS Pay band 1(1) 57,188 51,489 90 
			 A(U) (Grade 6) 45,972 48,267 105 
			 A (Grade 7) 39,283 38,842 99 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 27,155 26,291 97 
			 C (EO) 19,517 19,871 102 
			 D (AA/AO) 15,736 15,940 101 
			 
			  2006
			 SCS Pay band 1(1) 62,289 62,017 100 
			 A(U) (Grade 6) 53,466 55,950 105 
			 A (Grade 7) 43,725 42,119 96 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 29,569 29,011 98 
			 C (EO) 21,441 21,441 100 
			 D (AA/AO) 17,544 17,968 102 
			 (1) Permanent Secretary and SCS paybands 2 and 3 have been excluded under the Data Protection Act, to avoid identification of individuals where numbers are less than five. 
		
	
	The following table show the breakdown of men and women by grade in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Grade  Male  Female 
			  2002   
			 SCS 16 12 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 54 30 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 86 56 
			 C (EO) 53 56 
			 D (AA/AO) 36 70 
			 Total 245 224 
			
			  2003   
			 SCS 18 9 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 52 31 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 79 60 
			 C (EO) 56 61 
			 D (AA/AO) 33 69 
			 Total 238 230 
			
			  2004   
			 SCS 20 6 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 53 33 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 89 69 
			 C (EO) 55 65 
			 D (AA/AO) 33 63 
			 Total 250 236 
			
			  2005   
			 SCS 20 8 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 68 38 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 88 85 
			 C (EO) 59 64 
			 D (AA/AO) 32 65 
			 Total 267 260 
			
			  2006   
			 SCS 21 9 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 69 48 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 91 86 
			 C (EO) 58 67 
			 D (AA/AO) 25 43 
			 Total 264 253

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in her Department have been  (a) disciplined and  (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate numbers in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not disciplined or dismissed any staff for inappropriate use of the internet at work in the last five years. Access to premium rate numbers is barred.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in her Department in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether these include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has employed one EU foreign national since September 2004 and one non- EU foreign national since July 2005. Both individuals underwent national security vetting up to counter terrorist check (CTC) level, which includes liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies. In addition identity checks were made on their arrival to the Department.
	The non EU-foreign national was appointed under an aliens' certificate under sections 1 (1) (b) and 1 (2) (a) of the Aliens Employment Act 1955, which is valid for five years.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what opportunities exist for people to work beyond retirement age in her Department.

David Lammy: The minimum retirement age at which all staff can retire with full superannuation benefits is 60, but all staff below the senior civil service may, if they wish, work until age 65. Retirement age for the senior civil service is currently age 60 but heads of Departments have the flexibility to retain staff beyond age 60 if they judge it to be in the public interest.

Football

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with  (a) the Football Association,  (b) the Premier League,  (c) the League Managers' Association,  (d) the Professional Football Association and  (e) individual football clubs on tackling homophobia in football.

Richard Caborn: Further to my written answer of 20 April 2006,  Official Report, column 755W, there have been no ministerial discussions with any football authorities or clubs on tackling homophobia in football. The Government believe that there is no place for homophobia in football or in wider society and we fully support the campaign being led by the Football Association against homophobic abuse in football in England.

Football

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Minister for Sport's statement of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 70WH, on football players (behaviour), what her response is to the hon. Member for Nottingham North's proposal on the relaunch of sportsmanship on the first day of the next season.

Richard Caborn: I am keen to see all those involved in professional footballfootball authorities, club chairmen, managers and playersplay a part in ensuring that sportsmanship is given the utmost priority both for the remainder of this season and during future seasons.
	Although this is ultimately a matter for the football authorities to determine, I will carefully consider whether to write to all 92 Premier and Football League club chairmen, as I have done at the beginning of previous seasons, to remind them of their responsibilities in acting as role models to young football supporters.

Gaming Machines

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she plans to increase the level of stakes and prizes permitted for gaming machines; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The maximum stakes and prizes that will apply to gaming machines once the Gambling Act 2005 is implemented were published alongside the draft Bill. These include commitments to increase the maximum stake on Category C gaming machines (currently all cash amusement with prizes machines) from 30p currently to 50p, and to increase the maximum stake on Category B3 and B4 gaming machines (currently jackpot machines in bingo premises and registered clubs respectively) from 50p currently to 1.

Sport Funding

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central Government funding has been allocated to sport in Tamworth constituency in each of the last eight years.

Richard Caborn: Funding for sport is primarily channelled through Sport England and UK Sport, the two DCMS sponsored bodies which award lottery grants and dispense Exchequer funds for sport from DCMS. Not all data by distributing bodies is kept at constituency level.
	However Sport England and UK Sport have made a number of grants to the Tamworth constituency since 1997.
	Sport England awarded Exchequer funding of 20,000, 20,000 and 17,500 in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively. Lottery funding provided by Sport England to the Tamworth area since 1997 includes 10,000 for the Green Spaces programme, 169,183 Awards for All and 403,780 for the development of the Anker Valley.
	UK Sport has also provided Exchequer funding for UK Competitors in the Tamworth area: 60,000 in 1999-2000, 40,000 in 2000-01 and 20,000 in 2001-02.

Sport Funding

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department has provided to  (a) football,  (b) cricket,  (c) tennis,  (d) rugby,  (e) athletics and  (f) other sports in (i) the Tees Valley and (ii) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Richard Caborn: Financial support for sport from public sources is primarily channelled through Sport England and UK Sport, the two DCMS sponsored bodies which award lottery grants and dispense Exchequer funds for sport from DCMS.
	 Sport England
	The following table summarises the lottery funding which Sport England has awarded to the sports specified in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Tees Valley areas since 1997.
	
		
			  Award () 
			  Sport  Tees Valley  Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East 
			 (a) Football 7,068,041 90,450 
			 (b) Cricket 1,044,263 886,348 
			 (c) Tennis 38,059 (1) 
			 (d) Rugby 775,019 (1) 
			 (e) Athletics 1,792,008 160,000 
			 (f) Other sports 28,443,215 4,433,570 
			 Total 39,160,605 5,570,368 
			 (1)This information is not available in the format requested.  Note: Sport England has defined the Tees Valley area as the local authorities of: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees. 
		
	
	It was only possible to identify Space for Sport and the Arts and Green Spaces figures by local authority area which do not coincide exactly with constituency boundaries. As such they are included in the overall Tees Valley figures but not the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland figures. The report will therefore slightly understate the amount of funding benefiting Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
	The other sport category includes those projects classified as multi sport. It is likely that some of the individual sports listed in the table also benefited from these awards.
	It is not possible for Sport England to determine an amount of Exchequer funding allocated to individual sports in these two areas as its Exchequer funding is awarded to the National Governing Bodies of sports who then distribute this funding to projects in different areas. However, the total Exchequer funding awarded by Sport England to the Tees Valley area since 1997 is 902,928.
	For this purpose, Sport England has defined the Tees Valley area as the local authorities of: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar  Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
	 UK Sport
	It is not possible for UK Sport to determine an amount of lottery or Exchequer funding allocated to these two areas as its funding is not directed to specific regions. However, UK Sport has identified two athletes with a declared address in the Middlesbrough South  Cleveland East area who have benefited from lottery funded Athlete Personal Awards of approximately 63,000.
	 Note:
	This figure shows the funding awarded since 2001, the date which UK Sport took over management of Athlete Personal Awards from Sport England.

Sport Funding

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department has provided to increase  (a) female and  (b) ethnic minority participation in (i) football, (ii) rugby and (iii) cricket.

Richard Caborn: The Department has a PSA target to increase participation in sport from priority groups by 3 per cent. by 2008. These priority groups include women and ethnic minorities.
	Through their Whole Sport Plans and other initiatives, Sport England provides the national governing bodies of football, rugby and cricket with significant funding to contribute towards achieving this target.

Staff Development

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was of  (a) staff away days and  (b) staff team building exercises in her Department in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: The Department encourages Divisions to undertake staff away days and staff team building exercises as part of its commitment to the development of its staff and to improving performance. It does not record the costs of these separately from other forms of training and development.

The Public (West Bromwich)

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps were taken by Arts Council England to prevent the arts organisation The Public in West Bromwich from going into administration.

David Lammy: Despite efforts to strengthen the organisation's capacity through the provision of an additional 12 million by the funders in June 2005, and the advice of Arts Council England's stabilisation unit, the public informed funders that it was likely to breach its funding envelope in January 2006.
	At this point, the Arts Council commissioned a stock take report and options appraisal and the funders agreed upon one of the recommended options and to make short term cash flow funds available.
	However, in spite of close working between all stakeholders, the Board of The Public acted on legal advice and registered for insolvency on 3 March 2006 this year.

The Public (West Bromwich)

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Arts Council are taking to ensure that the objectives of its charter are being met in discussions on the future of The Public's arts building in West Bromwich.

David Lammy: As a result of the administration process for The Public, Arts Council England has been working closely with the administrators to ensure the artistic vision continues and is realised.
	All the funders recognise and continue to support the central place of creative activity within this landmark building. The Arts Council is leading on evolving a new artistic model and programme for the dedicated arts spaces within the building. A number of the visitor attraction exhibits have been commissioned and it is expected these will be placed within the gallery as originally intended.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Energy Provision

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK energy was generated from  (a) nuclear,  (b) oil,  (c) gas,  (d) coal and  (e) renewables sources in each of the past 30 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Data over a 30 year period are only available in terms of fuel used for electricity generation. Percentages calculated from the published data are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentages of total fuel input for electricity generation 
			   Nuclear  Oil  Natural gas  Coal  Renewable sources  Other fuels( 1) 
			 1976 14.3 16.3 2.4 66.4 0.6 ? 
			 1977 15.3 16.4 1.8 65.9 0.5 ? 
			 1978 14.3 17.7 1.2 66.1 0.5 0.2 
			 1979 14.1 15.7 0.7 68.8 0.5 0.2 
			 1980 14.3 11.0 0.6 73.4 0.5 0.2 
			 1981 15.4 8.3 0.3 75.2 0.6 0.2 
			 1982 18.0 10.1 0.3 70.9 0.6 0.2 
			 1983 20.3 7.7 0.3 71.1 0.6 ? 
			 1984 21.0 33.0 0.6 44.9 0.6 ? 
			 1985 23.1 15.9 0.8 59.8 0.5 ? 
			 1986 21.9 9.2 0.3 68.0 0.6 ? 
			 1987(2) 20.5 7.3 0.3 71.4 0.5 ? 
			 1987(2) 19.4 8.5 1.2 69.4 0.5 1.0 
			 1988 21.9 9.3 1.3 65.9 0.6 1.0 
			 1989 23.6 9.4 0.7 64.6 0.5 1.2 
			
			 1990 21.3 11.0 0.7 65.3 0.9 0.8 
			 1991 22.7 9.8 0.7 65.0 0.8 0.9 
			 1992 24.1 10.5 2.0 61.3 1.0 1.0 
			 1993 28.6 7.7 9.3 52.5 1.1 0.7 
			 1994 28.6 5.6 13.6 50.1 1.4 0.6 
			 1995 27.5 5.4 17.2 47.0 1.3 1.5 
			 1996 27.9 4.9 21.8 42.3 1.2 1.9 
			 1997 28.6 2.6 28.3 36.9 1.6 2.0 
			 1998 28.9 2.1 28.4 36.9 1.8 2.0 
			 1999 27.9 1.9 34.0 32.0 2.2 2.0 
			 2000 24.2 1.9 34.4 35.3 2.3 1.9 
			 2001 24.7 1.7 32.0 37.6 2.4 1.5 
			 2002 24.2 1.6 34.2 35.7 2.8 1.6 
			 2003 23.2 1.4 32.3 37.7 3.0 2.5 
			 2004 21.4 1.3 34.4 37.0 3.7 2.1 
			 2005(3) 21.5 1.7 31.9 37.9 4.3 2.6 
			 (1) Other fuels include coke and breeze, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and waste products from chemical processes and non-biodegradable wastes.  (2) Data for all generating companies are only available from 1987 onwards, and figures for 1987 to 1989 contain a high degree of estimation. Before 1987 the data are for major power producers, transport undertakings and industrial hydro and nuclear stations only.  (3) 2005 data are provisional.   Source:  Calculated from data published in tables 5.1.1 and 7.1.1 of the internet version of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2005.

Energy Provision

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what quantity of  (a) carbon dioxide and  (b) other emissions were generated by (i) nuclear, (ii) oil, (iii) gas, (iv) coal and (v) renewables generation in each of the past 30 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Data on carbon and other emissions from electricity generated by major power producers from coal, oil and gas since 1970 are shown in the table. The data have been obtained from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. There is no information available on emissions from nuclear or renewable electricity generation.
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes of pollutant 
			   Carbon  Carbon monoxide  Nitrogen oxide 
			  Fuel  Coal  Oil  Gas  Coal  Oil  Gas  Coal  Oil  Gas 
			 1970 47238 11254 87 126 15 0 690 122 0 
			 1971 44254 13143 381 102 18 0 650 145 1 
			 1972 40391 16592 913 88 22 0 594 179 3 
			 1973 46497 14823 413 98 20 0 684 163 1 
			 1974 40587 15473 1428 86 21 1 597 171 5 
			 1975 45137 11646 1244 94 16 0 664 129 4 
			 1976 47073 9129 928 98 13 0 693 101 3 
			 1977 48404 9509 635 101 13 0 712 104 2 
			 1978 48767 10168 367 102 14 0 718 112 1 
			 1979 53728 9779 233 112 13 0 791 108 1 
			 1980 54194 5717 80 113 8 0 797 64 0 
			 1981 52776 4295 0 110 6 0 111 48 0 
			 1982 48542 5698 122 101 8 0 714 63 1 
			 1983 49351 3429 247 103 5 0 726 38 1 
			 1984 32316 17612 356 68 24 0 476 196 1 
			 1985 44737 8490 183 93 12 0 658 95 1 
			 1986 50009 4972 2 105 7 0 736 56 0 
			 1987 52141 3962 2 109 6 0 767 44 0 
			 1988 49895 4534 2 104 6 0 734 51 0 
			 1989 48787 4686 3 102 7 0 720 47 0 
			 1990 49950 5643 4 104 8 0 717 58 0 
			 1991 50186 5103 10 104 7 0 631 45 0 
			 1992 46899 4389 715 97 7 4 612 37 12 
			 1993 39045 3723 3980 81 6 10 492 45 19 
			 1994 36889 2803 5661 86 5 12 449 38 23 
			 1995 34728 2720 7052 84 4 13 424 28 26 
			 1996 32674 2473 9259 80 4 14 373 26 31 
			 1997 27870 1023 11555 31 1 12 289 11 46 
			 1998 28708 750 12092 47 1 10 282 9 49 
			 1999 23990 776 14428 39 1 11 239 10 50 
			 2000 26996 852 14388 45 1 15 269 9 48 
			 2001 30142 865 14002 49 2 10 298 10 42 
			 2002 28410 688 14744 47 1 10 279 8 43 
			 2003 31245 693 14406 50 1 11 315 8 39 
			 2004 30091 935 15360 49 2 12 288 13 41 
			  Note:  In the table, coal includes coke; oil covers gas oil, fuel oil and orimulsion; gas includes natural gas, sour gas and other petroleum gases.   Source:  National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory 
		
	
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes of pollutant 
			   Sulphur dioxide  Volatile organic compounds  Particulate matter (PM10) 
			  Fuel  Coal  Oil  Gas  Coal  Oil  Gas  Coal  Oil  Gas 
			 1970 2257 662 0 6 1 0 66 3 0 
			 1971 2122 819 0 6 1 0 61 3 0 
			 1972 1939 1055 0 5 2 0 56 4 0 
			 1973 2190 970 0 6 1 0 64 4 0 
			 1974 1911 1020 0 5 2 1 56 4 0 
			 1975 2126 820 0 6 1 0 62 3 0 
			 1976 2217 599 0 6 1 0 65 2 0 
			 1977 2280 592 0 6 1 0 67 2 0 
			 1978 2297 646 0 6 1 0 67 2 0 
			 1979 2615 632 0 7 1 0 74 2 0 
			 1980 2638 374 0 7 1 0 75 1 0 
			 1981 2569 283 0 7 0 0 73 1 0 
			 1982 2408 344 0 6 1 0 67 1 0 
			 1983 2450 184 0 6 0 0 68 1 0 
			 1984 1624 968 0 4 2 0 44 4 0 
			 1985 2163 467 0 6 1 0 62 2 0 
			 1986 2450 276 0 6 0 0 69 1 0 
			 1987 2587 247 0 7 0 0 72 1 0 
			 1988 2488 244 0 6 0 0 69 1 0 
			 1989 2395 249 0 6 0 0 67 1 0 
			 1990 2424 304 0 6 1 0 69 1 0 
			 1991 2313 222 0 6 1 0 68 1 0 
			 1992 2207 196 30 6 0 0 64 1 0 
			 1993 1830 249 3 5 0 1 53 1 0 
			 1994 1549 202 4 5 0 1 47 1 1 
			 1995 1407 174 3 5 0 2 36 1 1 
			 1996 1141 167 5 5 0 3 33 1 1 
			 1997 953 39 8 3 0 2 20 2 10 
			 1998 1016 34 3 1 0 3 22 1 0 
			 1999 720 32 2 1 0 2 17 1 0 
			 2000 772 29 1 1 0 4 20 1 0 
			 2001 699 23 0 1 0 3 15 1 1 
			 2002 643 17 2 1 0 5 7 0 1 
			 2003 644 16 1 1 0 3 6 0 1 
			 2004 479 14 1 1 0 3 7 0 1 
			  Note:  In the table, coal includes coke; oil covers gas oil, fuel oil and orimulsion; gas includes natural gas, sour gas and other petroleum gases.   Source:  National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

Energy Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made as part of the Energy Review of the project to construct a new nuclear power plant in Finland, with particular reference to  (a) the financial commitment of the state in the project and  (b) the time taken to construct the station compared to the construction schedule.

Malcolm Wicks: As part of an assessment of a range of generating technologies, the Energy Review is taking note of experience from other countries.
	This includes the example of new nuclear build in Finland, and the costs and time scales involved in the project.

Non-fossil Fuel Obligation Fund

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his Department  (a) indicated its agreement to HM Treasury that the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Fund constituted hereditary revenues of the Crown and  (b) discovered that the fund had been conclusively so determined by HM Treasury; by what means and by whom the Treasury's determination was communicated to his Department; and if he will place copies of all relevant communications in the Library.

Malcolm Wicks: The DTI and HM Treasury agreed in October 2004 that the element of the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) surplus, representing the profit made by the Non Fossil Purchasing Agency because it is able to auction electricity (together with the associated Renewable Obligation Certificates) for more than it pays for the electricity under the NFFO contracts, should be paid into the Consolidated Fund after receiving legal advice that the monies are hereditary revenues of the Crown.
	I am withholding the legal advice requested, as it is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege. There is a strong public interest in Government Departments receiving high quality legal advice to ensure the effective conduct of business, that advice needs to be given in confidence and with a full appreciation of the facts.

Nuclear Power Stations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list serious breaches of safety procedures in each nuclear power station in each of the past 30 years.

Malcolm Wicks: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes quarterly statements for incidents at nuclear installations, which meet ministerial reporting criteria. Quarterly statements of nuclear incidents at nuclear installations from 1 October 2000 are available on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/quarterly-stat/index.htm
	Hard copies of quarterly statements from 1 April 1977, when ministerial reporting arrangements began, and September 2000 have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Arlene Pearson

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Mr. Gerry Keenan of the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Upper Bann regarding Arlene Pearson.

David Hanson: Mr. Keenan replied to the hon. Gentleman's letter on 5 May 2006.

Child Support Agency

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2006,  Official Report, column 315W, on the Child Support Agency, what progress has been made in converting all old scheme cases in Northern Ireland to the new system.

David Hanson: Since 3 March 2003, 17,181 cases previously assessed under child support old rules have been reassessed as new rules cases as a direct result of their link to a new scheme application.
	On 9 February 2006 the Great Britain agency's Operational Improvement Plan was announced in Parliament. The Northern Ireland Child Support Agency is now considering its ways of working in light of these proposals. Ministers have considered the findings of the work carried out by the chief executive of the Great Britain agency and have concluded that they should continue to keep the conversion decision under review.
	In the meantime, the work to redesign future policy and delivery arrangements for child support has begun. Sir David Henshaw will lead this work and he will deliver his findings to my hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions this summer.

Home Ownership

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes were purchased in Northern Ireland through the co-ownership scheme in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of co-ownership purchases 
			 2003-04 463 
			 2004-05 502 
			 2005-06 504

Housing Executive

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by  (a) housing associations and  (b) the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The number of staff employed is as follows:
	 (a) Housing Associations(1)1,910;
	 (b) Northern Ireland Housing Executive(2)3,437
	(1) Excludes staff on career break, seconded out or employed through an agency
	(2) Excludes temporary, casual and agency staff

Post-primary Education

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the ongoing consultation on changes to post-primary education in Northern Ireland is not listed on the Northern Ireland Office website list of current consultations.

Peter Hain: I am sorry for the delay in replying, this was due to an administrative error.
	A central website exists on which NI Departments register all public consultations past and present. Details of all public consultations are not therefore routinely published on the NIO website. Details of the consultations on changes to post-primary education in Northern Ireland were published on the Department of Education website.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Algeria

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Algeria about the use of torture.

Kim Howells: During his visit to Algeria in February, my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) discussed regional and bilateral issues with the Algerian Government. In the context of deportation with assurances, the discussions included assurances against ill-treatment.

Biological and Toxin Weapons

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU action plan on biological and toxin weapons.

Kim Howells: The EU adopted an Action Plan on biological and toxin weapons on 27 February 2006 in parallel with, and to complement, a Joint Action on the same issue. The Action Plan sets out all EU member states' agreement to submit annual Confidence Building Measures (CBM) returns under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. This is a step towards revitalising this mechanism and will enable the EU to have a firmer base for encouraging other States Party to submit annual CBM returns. The Action Plan also sets out member states' agreement to consider and/or update as appropriate the expertise or use of laboratories that they can volunteer to the United Nations Secretary-General, should he be called upon to undertake an investigation into the alleged use of biological weapons.

Biological and Toxin Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the countries her Department has classified as having an offensive biological warfare capability in the last 30 years, indicating in each case whether that capability is assessed to be  (a) current,  (b) dormant and  (c) destroyed; and whether, in each case, the country in question is a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention 1972.

Kim Howells: The dual-use nature of virtually all the know-how, materials and equipment used in biology means that most industrialised countries have such a capability.

Biological and Toxin Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the capacity of Russia to produce biological weapons; and what stores of such weapons she assesses Russia holds, with particular reference to  (a) smallpox and  (b) genetically modified smallpox.

Kim Howells: The Government keep under review the potential military capability of other States, but it is not our practice to divulge the details.

Colombia

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Colombian government regarding its human rights record.

Kim Howells: Through our Embassy in Bogota and in contacts with visiting Colombian officials, we make frequent representations to the Colombian government over human rights issues. We also regularly raise specific cases of concern with them. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, most recently did so with Vice President Santos on 28 November 2005, and our Embassy most recently did so in the week beginning 24 April. Human rights form a significant strand of our policy towards Colombia. We consistently urge the Colombian government to implement recommendations arising from successive annual reports of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights and have offered to help them to do so.

Iran (Nuclear Programme)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she first learnt of the Iranian Government's claim that it had successfully enriched a certain quantity of uranium to 3.6 per cent.; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: This claim was first made by Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran on 11 April. He said that Iran had
	'started enriching uranium to the 3.5 per cent. level, and thus has passed the stage of pilot production'.
	President Ahmadinejad repeated the claim later the same day.
	In his 28 April report, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Mohammed El-Baradei, said that
	'on 18 April the Agency took samples at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (in Natanz), the results of which tend to confirm as of that date the enrichment level declared by Iran'.
	We understand that the Agency is still investigating. On 2 May, Mr. Aghazadeh said that the highest level to which Iran had enriched was 4.8 per cent.
	As my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) has said, Iran's continuation of enrichment-related activities, contrary to repeated requests by the IAEA Board and the United Nations Security Council, is of serious concern. The Security Council is presently discussing next steps.

Iraq (Nuclear Contamination)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has received representations regarding the risk of nuclear contamination affecting civilians in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 14 June 2005,  Official Report, columns 327-28W. I have received no recent representations on the issues.

Middle East

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the UK has provided to Israel to obtain a nuclear weapon; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There are a large number of publications available on the history of Israel's nuclear programme. The Government are content that at no time has the United Kingdom breached its international obligations regarding the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Middle East

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the United States and  (b) other states on a Middle East nuclear weapons free zone.

Kim Howells: The UK continues to support the principle of establishing a Middle East nuclear weapon free zone. Concerns surrounding Iran's nuclear programme have renewed international interest in the establishment of such a zone and, in the context of wider regional security, the issue has formed part of our regular discussions with many countries, including the other permanent members of the UN Security Council. The UK has also raised this issue in numerous high-level bilateral contacts in the run-up to last year's Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

Mockbul Ali

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what capacity Mr. Mockbul Ali is employed to advise the Foreign Office; what level of security clearance he has; and what vetting procedures were undertaken before he was offered employment.

Kim Howells: It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) policy to comment publicly on named civil servants. The level of security clearance each member of the FCO holds is commensurate with the work the officer carries out. Normal vetting procedures are undertaken before employment is offered.

Mockbul Ali

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice her Department sought from  (a) the Cabinet Secretary and  (b) other senior civil servants on the employment of Mr. Mockbul Ali following his employment by the Labour Party.

Kim Howells: It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office policy to comment publicly on the employment contracts for individual members of staff, nor on advice sought or not sought before offering a member of staff employment. Staff are recruited according to strict guidelines under free and fair, open competitions.

Morocco

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Morocco about the treatment of migrants.

Kim Howells: The UK regularly holds discussions at ministerial and official level with the Government of Morocco about migration. For instance, I discussed migration with Taib Fassi Fihri, the Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation during our meeting on 30 March 2006.
	The UK Presidency established a framework of action by the EU to better manage migration from Africa and the Mediterranean, including addressing the treatment of migrants. Within that framework, on 10-11 July Morocco will host a regional conference on migration and development, addressing migration flows within countries on the West Africa migratory route. The UK is playing an active role in the preparations for the conference.

Rendition

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 88W, on rendition, whether a state is required to make a separate request for permission for each individual rendition flight through UK airspace or using UK airbases.

Kim Howells: Yes. We would expect a state to seek permission for each individual rendition flight through UK airspace and UK airbases, including Overseas Territories. We would decide whether or not to grant permission taking into account all the circumstances. We would not assist in any case if to do so would put us in breach of UK law and our international obligations.

Rendition

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2006,  Official Report, column 86W, on Rendition, if he will list the international obligations with which a request for permission to make a rendition flight must accord if the UK is to grant permission.

Kim Howells: The relevant international obligations would depend on the details of each request.

Rendition

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1184W, on rendition allegations (inquiries), whether Mohammed Rashid has been sentenced.

Kim Howells: Mohammed Rashid was sentenced on 24 March 2006 for his part in the bombing of a Pan Am aircraft in 1982. He will remain in prison in the United States until 20 March 2013 and pay restitution to the parents of the teenager killed in the bombing. We learned of the sentence just after publication of my written reply to my hon. Friend on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 1183-84 W.

Small Arms

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department will be attending the United Nations conference to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects taking place in New York from 26 June to 7 July 2006.

Kim Howells: UK Ministerial participation at the Review Conference of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects is currently under consideration. John Duncan, our Ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament will lead the team of officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development.

West Bank/Gaza (UK Personnel)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has received regarding the safety of UK personnel operating in the West Bank and Gaza.

Kim Howells: We take the safety of UK personnel working in the West Bank and Gaza and visiting British nationals very seriously.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, South-West (Dr. Starkey) on 21 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 339-40W. Since then, we have not received any further representations.

Western Sahara

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of oil exploration offshore of Western Sahara on the stability of the region.

Kim Howells: There has been limited exploration for oil off the coast of Western Sahara. The Government believe the exploration that has taken place has not affected regional stability.

PRIME MINISTER

Mortgage

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has made a declaration to the Cabinet Secretary in respect of his mortgage repayments.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 3 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1674W.

Suicide Bombings (Israel)

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with Arab states about suicide bombings in Israel; what response he has received; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have regular discussions with leaders of Arab states on a wide range issues, including Israel. My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Straw) and my hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East (Dr. Howells) have also raised these matters with leaders of Arab states. Most recently my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary discussed the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on 17 April in a meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, during his visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

HEALTH

Choose and Book System

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest estimates are for the cost of setting up the  (a) computer software,  (b) computer hardware,  (c) staff,  (d) other administrative infrastructure and  (e) other elements of the new Choose and Book system for making hospital appointments.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 April 2006
	The choose and book computer system was delivered on time and to budget on 2 July 2004. The costs incurred to date by the Department's NHS Connecting for Health agency for software delivery and service changes amount to 26.4 million on a total contract cost of 64.5 million over five years. The costs of hardware, and the prime contractor's staff costs in application development, are included in this amount. The staff and other administrative infrastructure costs of NHS Connecting for Health's choose and book programme team could only be separately identified within those of the agency as a whole at disproportionate cost.
	The choose and book system is one of many systems that sends messages through the care record spine. However, the cost of spine services associated with choose and book messaging is not separately identified from that for other spine messages, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Dentistry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to Morecambe Bay primary care trust for dentistry services in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The main element of national health service dental services are the primary dental care services provided by dentists working within the general dental service (GDS), or personal dental service (PDS) pilots. Until April 2006, when primary care trusts (PCTs) became responsible for commissioning all primary dental care services, the GDS was a non- discretionary service funded from a national budget. Expenditure was mainly determined by the volume of NHS work that dentists chose to undertake. Local budget allocations were not assigned to individual PCTs.
	The level of expenditure on hospital and community dental services is decided at local level by PCTs. The tables show the most readily available core data on expenditure on GDS and PDS services for the Morecambe Bay PCT. The difference between gross and net expenditure is the contribution to costs from dental charges collected directly from patients. As the notes explain, this data does not capture certain elements of GDS and PDS expenditure, and reliable local PDS data based on practice level details is only available from the financial year 2004-05. Full data for 2005-06 is not yet available.
	
		
			  Core GDS and PDS dental payments( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   million 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Gross GDS 8.025 8.372 8.622 8.983 9.642 9.767 9.799 9.260 
			 Net GDS 5.182 5.356 5.460 5.667 6.081 6.180 6.331 6.140 
			 Gross PDS n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.564 
			 Net PDS n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.378 
			 Gross GDS and PDS 8.025 8.372 8.622 8.983 9.642 9.767 9.799 10.824 
			 Net GDS and PDS 5.182 5.356 5.460 5.667 6.081 6.180 6.331 7.519 
			  Notes: 1. Gross GDS payments include adult fees, including item of service and continuing care payments, child fees, including item of service and capitation payments, commitment payments and point of treatment check payment training (in 2001 only), seniority payments, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave payments, long term sick leave payments, continuing professional development allowances including travel hours, reimbursement of business rates, vocational training grants and clinical audit payments. The following costs are excluded from this data: employer's superannuation costs, vocational trainee salaries and national insurance contribution costs, clinical audit convenors, clinical audit secretarial support costs and travel expenses, and costs associated with any salaried general dental practitioners and emergency dental services. 2. PDS payment data is included for 2004-05 only and relates to baseline payments or the agreed regular monthly payments made to PDS practices. Reliable PDS data at practice level are not available prior to 2004-05. The data cannot identify the cost of any PDS services that are directly managed by local NHS trusts, such as certain dental access centres. 3. Payments are assigned to areas on the basis of practice postcode data. 4. Net payments represent the balance of payments due after taking account of NHS dental charge income collected from patients by dental practices.

Dentistry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis her Department calculates the amount of funding allocated to primary care trusts each year for dentistry services.

Rosie Winterton: Under the new dental service framework which took effect on 1 April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) received devolved budgets to support the commissioning of local primary dental services. These services were previously provided as general dental services (GDS), for which expenditure was demand-led, that is depending on the volume of national health service work that dentists chose to do, and personal dental services (PDS) pilots.
	Allocations for 2006-07 were based on the costs of all GDS and PDS services delivered between October 2004 and September 2005 (the most recently available data for each area), adjusted where necessary to reflect the full year costs of newly opened contracts, together with provision for approved growth plans for local schemes proposed by PCTs. Appropriate upratings to fully reflect annual earnings adjustments as recommended by the doctors and dentists review body were also considered.
	These allocations reflected the commitment that all dentists previously providing NHS services were entitled to maintain their previous level of earnings in return for an agreed level of NHS commitment. This was intended to provide a smooth transition to the new contract arrangements and to provide a stable base for the future development of dental services.
	PCTs may direct additional funding to dentistry from their general NHS resources if they judge this to be an appropriate local priority.

Eye Tests

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the eye examination sight test fee payable by the NHS to registered opticians for  (a) under-16s,  (b) those in full time education,  (c) those on income support,  (d) those over 60 and  (e) others.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 May 2006
	Negotiations on the sight test fee for 2006-07 are under way.

Hospital Transport

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligations her Department places on  (a) acute hospital trusts,  (b) GP practices,  (c) primary care trusts and  (d) strategic health authorities to ensure that patients are able to access transport from their home to NHS appointments; and how much was spent by the NHS on support for such transport in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 May 2006
	The publication Ambulance and other patient transport services: Operation, use and performance standards provides guidance on the eligibility criteria for patient transport services (PTS) and is available in the Library. This document states that medical need for non-emergency patient transport must be determined by a doctor, dentist or midwife and will depend upon the medical condition of the individual patient, the availability of private or public transport and distance to be travelled. The principle which should apply is that each patient should be able to reach hospital in a reasonable time and in reasonable comfort, without detriment to their medical condition.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for ensuring that there is provision of ambulance services, which could include patient transport services, to such extent as they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. Therefore, it is for the local national health service to decide who provides patient transport services for eligible patients in their area. PCTs should apply the principles outlined in the aforementioned publication to consider each case on its merits or to develop local criteria for patient transport services use. The White Paper Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services signals our intent to broaden eligibility to patients referred for treatment in and out of hospital settings and during 2006-07 we will update guidance on eligibility for PTS to reflect the changes outlined in the White Paper.
	PCTs are responsible for ensuring that patients who travel to receive their traditional hospital care receive reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses where the patient can prove they require financial assistance. Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services also signals our intent to extend eligibility for the hospital travel costs scheme (HTCS) to include people who are referred by a health care professional for treatment in a primary care setting, providing that they meet the existing low-income criteria.
	For 2004-05, NHS ambulance trust expenditure on non-emergency PTS was approximately 228 million. Itemised data on expenditure by other NHS organisations on non-emergency patient transport is not available centrally. Information on HTCS expenditure is not collected centrally.

Infant Formula

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had on the European Union Directive on infant formula and follow-on formula.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has represented the views of the United Kingdom during discussions within the European Commission's infant formula working group as it has policy responsibility for the directive. The FSA has regularly consulted and updated the Department about progress and Ministers have been kept informed. The draft revised directive will be submitted to the standing committee on the food chain and animal health for further discussion and a possible vote in June. If the committee adopts the draft directive, it will become European Union law and will subsequently be implemented in UK legislation.

Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the views of local people are taken into account when she makes her decision about the new primary care trust boundaries within the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority area.

Rosie Winterton: In managing the local consultation on primary care trust (PCT) reconfiguration in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, the strategic health authority (SHA) consulted a wide range of stakeholders in the region. This included local Members of Parliament, national health service staff, NHS organisations, local clinical committees, voluntary organisations and trade unions.
	The consultation included 80 stakeholder meetings, of which 16 were open to the public, and were attended by over 900 people. The SHA received 539 letters, 1,609 completed questionnaires and 10,934 petition signatures in response to the consultation.
	It was made explicitly clear to all SHAs that when preparing the summary of consultation responses, all views generated as a result of the consultation had to be taken into account.

Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the formal integration of adult social care into the NHS primary care trust structure in Peterborough is taken into account when deciding on the new primary care trust boundaries within the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority area.

Rosie Winterton: In managing the local consultation on primary care trust (PCT) reconfiguration in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, the strategic health authority (SHA) consulted a wide range of stakeholders in the region including those in social care.
	In making decisions about the optimum configuration of PCTs to recommend, the SHA will have considered the eight 'Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS' criteria which include improving coordination with social services through greater congruence of PCT and local Government boundaries.

Primary Care Trusts (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses and  (c) other staff were employed in each primary care trust covering Portsmouth in each of the last three years; what the planned figures are for (i) 2006-07 and (ii) the next three financial years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  All national health service staff for selected organisations by main staff group, as at 30 September 2003-05 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust 2,084 2,076 2,222 
			 
			 All doctors(1) 159 157 159 
			 Health and community health service doctors(1) 46 43 40 
			 All general medical practitioners(2) 113 114 119 
			 
			 Nurses 496 457 474 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 403 379 397 
			 General practitioner (GP) practice nurses 93 78 77 
			 
			  Other NHS staff
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 298 331 355 
			 Support to clinical staff 524 508 563 
			 NHS infrastructure support 291 285 339 
			 
			 Practice staff other than practice nurses(3) 316 338 332 
			 (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.  (2) General medical practitioners includes contracted GPs, general medical service others, personal medical service others, GP registrars and GP retainers.  (3) Practice staff other than practice nurses includes direct patient care, administrative and clerical and other.   Sources:  1.  The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical work force census  2. The Information Centre for health and social care, medical and dental work force census  3. The Information Centre for health and social care, general and personal medical services statistics 
		
	
	It is the responsibility of PCTs and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local NHS trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver these services.

WALES

Children's Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many nursery and crche places are provided for people working in his Department; what charges are made for the provision of such services; and what other facilities are provided for the children of employees of his Department.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office is a small organisation, with 54 staff based in Cardiff and London. It draws its staff from other bodies, namely the National Assembly for Wales and Department of Constitutional Affairs. While it is not practical for the Wales Office to provide its own on-site crche or nursery places, staff can access subsidised childcare places or childcare vouchers through their employing bodies.
	These schemes support parents' own choices about what child care they want for their child.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: Paragraph 5.28 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Equal Pay

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many  (a) women and  (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (A) 1997 and (B) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (1) women and (2) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

Peter Hain: Staff serving in the Wales Office are either on loan from the National Assembly for Wales or employed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Their pay is set by their employing bodies rather than by the Wales Office. Information on staff pay by gender is not available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Wales Office Departmental Report 2005 (CM6545) provides data on staff including staff numbers, ethnic groups, grades and gender. A copy of the report can be obtained from the Library of the House.

Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in his Department have been enabled to work from home in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office is committed to improving work/life balance. It values diversity and accommodates different work patterns including home working.
	Over the past three years a number of staff have followed a flexible working pattern, working the occasional day or half day at home, either to suit personal circumstances or to assist in the completion of a specific task. Information on the number of staff that have worked form home in the last three years is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	One member of Wales Office staff has a more formal arrangement for home working.

Occupational Pensions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government on the number of pensioners in Wales potentially affected by the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman on occupational pensions.

Peter Hain: Responsibility for occupational pensions lies with the UK Government and information is collected at UK level only.
	On this basis, an estimated 125,000 people in the UK are covered by the Ombudsman's recommendations on occupational pensions.

Wind Farms

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the environmental impact of the construction and operation of the Scarweather Sands offshore wind farm on breeding harbour porpoises; what discussions his Department has had with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this subject; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I have had no such representations. I refer the hon. Lady to the answer the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire (Nick Ainger) gave to her on 20 January 2006,  Official Report, column 1630W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum/Immigration

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants whose applications have been rejected were detained pending removal from the UK but subsequently released before removal in the last three years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The exact information requested is not available; it would only be available by examination of individual case files. Period statistics covering those leaving from detention during July to September 2005 have been published. This information has been broken down by the reasons for leaving detention, which includes removed from the UK, granted leave to enter/remain, granted temporary admission/release, bailed and other. Statistics on the total number of persons leaving detention during this period are published in the Quarterly Asylum bulletin. It is not possible to say which stage of the asylum process people are at when they are detained. Published editions of this bulletin and other information on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants whose applications and subsequent appeal rights have been exhausted have fresh applications being considered by his Department.

Tony McNulty: We are progressing the cases of approximately 6,000 failed asylum seekers who have submitted further representations which they claim amount to a fresh asylum application, following exhaustion of all their appeal rights. This information is based on internal management information and as such is not published within official statistics.

Asylum/Immigration

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) exceptional leave to remain,  (b) asylum and  (c) indefinite leave to remain applications under consideration by his Department are the subject of involvement by hon. Members.

Tony McNulty: Statistics are not routinely recorded on the numbers of each type of application to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) which are under consideration and which are also the subject of inquiries by right hon. and hon. Members.

Asylum/Immigration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of families with children have absconded while awaiting removal following the failure of their asylum applications in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The number of families with children that have absconded while awaiting removal following the failure of their asylum applications is not readily available. This information could be obtained by examination of individual case files only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of families with children have been detained prior to removal following failed asylum applications over the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The data on the number of families with children that have been detained prior to removal following failed asylum applications over the last five years is not readily available. This information could be obtained by examination of individual case files only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU citizens settled in the UK in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2004.

Tony McNulty: Statistics on EU nationals issued residence documentation showing settled status in 2004 were published in table 4.3 of the Command Paper Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2004. This publication is available from the Libraries of the House and from the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html2005 data are due to be published in August. EU nationals are not obliged to seek documentation in order to reside lawfully in the United Kingdom; the figures relate to those who chose to do so and do not represent the total number of EU nationals remaining permanently in the UK.

Asylum/Immigration

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts in controlling illegal immigration into the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 2 May 2006
	The Home Secretary regularly discusses illegal immigration with his EU counterparts. Since January 2005, he has attended numerous meetings, specifically eight EU Justice and Home Affairs Councils at which this issue has been raised. In addition, he has also had numerous bilateral meetings with his EU counterparts, in smaller groups, and non EU counterparts in the margins of these meetings and in visits they have made to the UK at which discussion of illegal immigration has played a prominent part. More particularly during the UK Presidency in the second half of 2005, he ensured that specific EU attention was given to illegal immigration including organised immigration crime. An EU action plan on human trafficking was agreed as well as a new approach to migration, both legal and illegal, with partner countries and regions, in particular Africa, which the European Council endorsed. Implementation of both of these programmes of work has begun and the UK is playing its full part in ensuring the EU delivers against the commitments made. The presidency also focused on measures to strengthen the EU's borders and, as part of work to strengthen the security of EU travel documents, reached intergovernmental agreement on non-binding common minimum security standards and issuing procedures in ID cards.

Asylum/Immigration

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are thought to be in the UK.

Tony McNulty: No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case. Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally, the Home Office published a report which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05 Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001 can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html#rdsolr2905.

Asylum/Immigration

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people living in the UK are seeking permission to remain because they do not have up to date paperwork granting them residence.

Tony McNulty: IND is currently meeting its service standards for in-country applications for leave to remain. These are shown on the IND website. We do not keep records of individual reasons for applications.

Asylum/Immigration

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition of audited accounts he uses in relation to stipulations for indefinite leave to remain as a business person in the United Kingdom.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 1 May 2006
	Under the Immigration Rules an applicant applying for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a person established in business is required to submit audited accounts. For operational purposes these are defined as business accounts that have been officially inspected by an independent qualified accountant.

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is given to spouse applicants for entry into the UK on  (a) their legal rights and  (b) their entitlement to recourse to public funds.

Tony McNulty: Information about the requirements for leave to enter as a spouse is available on the IND and UK visas websites and from entry clearance posts abroad. No information is provided to applicants about their legal rights in the UK. Applicants granted leave to enter on the basis of marriage are required to demonstrate that they are able to maintain and accommodate themselves without recourse to public funds and will be given a visa stating that they have no recourse to public funds. They will only be entitled to access public funds once they have been granted indefinite leave to remain.

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances public funds are made available to support a spouse entrant to the UK within the probationary period who alleges domestic abuse or violence.

Tony McNulty: There is provision under the Immigration Rules for a person subject to immigration control whose marriage has broken down during the probationary period due to domestic violence to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Whilst their application is pending, an applicant will not be entitled to access public funds. However, local authorities may be able to provide financial support and can assess such cases under Section 47 of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 or Section two of the Local Government Act 2000 or, if they have children, under the Children Act 1989 to determine whether they are eligible for Community Care assistance.

Asylum/Immigration

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been detained in each UK immigration detention centre in each of the last five years; and for how long each was detained.

Tony McNulty: This information is not available. The accompanying table shows the number of minors detained solely under Immigration Act powers who were removed or released from detention during the third quarter of 2005, broken down by length and place of detention. Period statistics covering those leaving detention during July to September 2005 have been published. Statistics on the total number of persons under 18 years of age at the time of leaving detention during this period, broken down by length of detention are published in the Quarterly Asylum bulletin. Published editions of this bulletin and other information on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Minors recorded as being removed or released from detention (excluding Oakington) in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, quarter three 2005, by length and place of detention( 1,2) 
			Of which: 
			Last detained in 
			  Length of detention( 3,4)  Total minors( 4,5)  Colnbrook long term  Colnbrook short term  Dungavel  Port of Dover  Tinsley House  Yarl's Wood 
			 Seven days or less 310 ? * * 10 45 250 
			 Eight to 14 days 50 ? ? ? ? 5 45 
			 15 to 29 days 70 * ? ? ? * 65 
			 One month to less than two months 25 ? ? ? ? ? 25 
			 Two months to less than three months 5 ? ? ? ? ? 5 
			 Three months to less than four months * ? ? ? ? ? * 
			 Total 455 * * * 10 50 390 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with ? = 0, * = 1 or 2, may not sum due to rounding and exclude those whose parent(s) are detained under both criminal and immigration powers.  (2) Relates to current period of sole detention only.  (3) Two months is defined as 61 days; four months is defined as 122 days.  (4) People recorded as being under 18 at the end of their period of detention. Figures are likely to overstate because applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be younger on arrival in the United Kingdom.  (5) Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, they are both bailed and subsequently removed in the time period shown.

Asylum/Immigration

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families detained at Yarl's Wood were referred to a health visitor in  (a) 2005 and  (b) the first quarter of 2006.

Tony McNulty: One family detained at Yarl's Wood was referred to a health visitor in 2005 and two families in the first quarter of 2006.

Asylum/Immigration

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 974, has been withdrawn from the Vote Office of the House.

Tony McNulty: The Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 974, was withdrawn in order to be replaced by HC 1016. The replacement Statement of Changes included all of the key policy changes in the previous statement, but with a couple of minor amendments. As explained in the Explanatory Memorandum, there were two main amendments that needed to be made. These were as follows:
	The existing arrangement was preserved whereby applicants coming to the UK under ancestry provisions are given leave to enter for the entirety of the settlement qualifying period rather than being granted one period of two years and having to apply for a three-year extension before qualifying for settlement (as required in the first statement);
	Prospective students hoping to remain in the UK as a student must obtain an entry clearance prior to entry (this requirement was inadvertently omitted from the first statement); since the statement was being re-laid, we took the opportunity to clarify the provisions for postgraduate doctors and dentist to make it clear that an applicant seeking leave to enter in this capacity need not have completed their degree in the previous 12 months if they have been granted leave in this capacity on an earlier occasion.

British Citizens

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people became British citizens in the 2005 calendar year.

Tony McNulty: The requested information is due to be published on 23 May in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Persons granted British Citizenship United Kingdom, 2005. It will be available from the Libraries of the House and from the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Business Rates/Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for offences in relation to the non-payment of  (a) business rates and  (b) council tax in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Non-payment of council tax or business rates is not a criminal offence. If the appropriate reminder notices have been sent and a debt remains unpaid, a local billing authority may apply to the magistrates court for a Liability Order which formally establishes that there is a debt. The Liability Order enables enforcement action to be taken.
	The Government do not collect information on the number of taxpayers against whom billing authorities take enforcement action for non-payment of council tax or business rates.

Colnbrook and Harmondsworth Detention Centres

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department has taken to ensure the adequate treatment of detainees with tuberculosis in  (a) Colnbrook and  (b) Harmondsworth detention centres.

Tony McNulty: Any detainee at Colnbrook and Harmondsworth diagnosed as having a confirmed case of tuberculosis will be referred to Hillingdon hospital chest clinic for management relating to drug treatment. The detainee would then be nursed in isolation in the centre's healthcare unit for a two week period. Once this period is over, the detainee would be returned to their normal location. Regular follow up would be undertaken at Hillingdon hospital on their instructions. All removal centres liaise and work with their local health authorities who would provide any necessary advice and support in the event of a major health risk in a centre.

Colnbrook and Harmondsworth Detention Centres

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees have gone on hunger strike in  (a) Colnbrook and  (b) Harmondsworth detention centres since January 2005; how many are on hunger strike; and what action has been taken to address the grievances of those who are on hunger strike.

Tony McNulty: After the evening meal on 3 May 2006, there were five detainees recorded at Colnbrook as not having eaten the meals provided for three days or more and one such detainee at Harmondsworth.

Colnbrook and Harmondsworth Detention Centres

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times since January 2004 have external units been deployed in (a) Colnbrook and  (b) Harmondsworth detention centres to deal with disturbances by detainees.

Tony McNulty: Since January 2004, no external units have been deployed at Colnbrook to deal with disturbances by detainees. External units have been deployed on one occasion at Harmondsworth since January 2004. This was on 19 July 2004 when there was a serious disturbance at the centre.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Director of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter of 7 February 2006 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on behalf of Gertrude Chiduku, Home Office reference C1083301, acknowledgement reference B3690/6.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 3 May 2006.

Deportations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the use of Memoranda of Understanding in respect of the return of deportees to certain countries.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the former Home Secretary, has met the High Commissioner, including a bilateral meeting on 16 February this year at which they discussed the difficulties faced in balancing the prevention of terrorist attacks with the maintenance individual human rights. They did not discuss deportation Memoranda of Understanding specifically. My right hon. Friend did discuss the matter with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture last October. The issue was also discussed when senior officials met the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights who visited the UK in November. My right hon. Friend is, of course, also aware of the High Commissioner's statement on this subject, issued on Human Rights' day last year.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress with his plans for reform of the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: Reform of the Child Support Agency is progressing along two tracks. The agency published its Operational Improvement Plan in February 2006 which sets out how the agency will make significant improvement to performance over the next three years. In the meantime Sir David Henshaw is developing a redesign of the child support system for the longer term and has been asked to deliver his findings to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions before the summer recess.

Child Support Agency

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest estimate is of the backlog of cases at the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: As published in the Quarterly Summary of Statistics, as of March 2006 the agency has 333,000 uncleared potential applications across both the old and new child support schemes.

Child Support Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many absent parents in the past year the Child Support Agency has threatened with legal action involving a possible custodial sentence for non-payment of maintenance; and how many were convicted and given a custodial sentence.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many absent parents in the past year the Child Support Agency has threatened with legal action involving a possible custodial sentence for non-payment of maintenance; and how many were convicted and given a custodial sentence.
	Commitment to prison or disqualification from holding a driving licence is the ultimate sanction available to the Agency for recovery of arrears of Child Support maintenance. The power to withdraw driving licences was brought into effect on 2 April 2001 (under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000). If the non-resident parent is found guilty of willful refusal or culpable neglect the court will decide which of the available sanctions is the most appropriate.
	Prior to the Secretary of State making an application to the court, a warning letter is issued to the non-resident parent advising of the intention to apply to the courts for committal to prison or disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence.
	During the year ending 31 March 2006 the Agency issued 1,155 warning letters to non-resident parents. Of these it was necessary to make 920 applications to court for committal or disqualification proceedings.
	The information provided below relates to the number of cases for which applications were made to court for committal or disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence proceedings. These numbers may include multiple actions against individual non-resident parents who continually fail to pay. Therefore, although several applications can be made in respect of individual debts the Court will incorporate these into the same hearing with one outcome.
	The following table details the number of cases referred to court and the outcomes for committal and disqualification proceedings over the same period.
	
		
			  Committal and disqualification proceedings year ending 31 March 2006  Cases 
			 Total of cases prepared for court with initial hearing date set 920 
			 Number of suspended committal sentences 376 
			 Number of actual committal sentences 15 
			 Number of suspended driving licence disqualification sentences 35 
			 Number of actual driving licence disqualification sentences 5 
			  Notes:  1. Of the 920 cases prepared for court with an initial hearing date set, in a small number of hearings, the actual hearing date will occur after 31 March 2006.  2. The fact that the number of suspensions and actual penalties is less than half the number of referrals is explained by the number of debtors who enter into agreements to pay rather than attend court. Similarly, only a very small number of debtors actually go to prison or lose their driving licences because the courts normally suspend a sentence on condition that the defendant commits to pay.

Child Support Agency

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average application processing time was for  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) income support and  (c) the Child Support Agency in the last period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Details of the average actual processing times for disability living allowance claims are in the table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance (DLA) average actual clearance times (AACT) 
			   March 2006  2005-06 
			 DLA (normal rules) claims 33.1 34.5 
			 DLA (special rules) claims 5.1 5.5 
			 DLA renewals 33.0 31.5 
			 DLA reconsiderations 31.4 29.1 
			 DLA supervisions 50.0 43.6 
			 DLA appeals 34.7 31.8 
		
	
	In March 2006, income support claims were processed in an average of 12.2 days. For the full operational year from April 2005 to March 2006 the figure was 11.3 days.
	Information on processing times for child support applications can be found in the Agency's Quarterly Statistical Summary (QSS), published on 27 April 2006; a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Pensions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his plans to reform the pension system.

Anne McGuire: The Government have welcomed the Pension Commissions' report and believes it has provided the right framework for delivering a long-term settlement for tomorrow's pensioners.
	The key to delivering sustainable reform must be that any change promotes personal responsibility, introduces greater simplicity, and is fair, affordable and sustainable.
	That is why we have taken steps to build consensus through the National Pensions Debate, engaging with all interested parties and individuals in communities across the country.
	We will publish our proposals for pension reform by the end of the month.

Pensions

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his response is to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report on occupational pension funds; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I refer to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Sandra Osborne) on 3 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1603W.

Pensions

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basis was of his calculations of the cost of fulfilling the requirements of the recommendations of the parliamentary ombudsman's report on pension schemes.

Stephen Timms: We will publish a full, formal response to the parliamentary ombudsman's report shortly. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explained during the debate in this House on 16 March, the response will set out the details of our costings for implementing the measures suggested in the report.

Post Office Card Account

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners use a Post Office Card Account to receive their pension.

James Plaskitt: Around 2.3 million.

Post Office Card Account

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps were taken by his Department to inform the public that the Post Office card account was time-limited; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) on 19 April 2006,  Official Report, column 721W.

Post Office Card Account

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultation he has conducted with customers and sub-postmasters on the ending of the use of the Post Office card account for payment of pensions and benefits.

James Plaskitt: We will be holding discussions about our payment strategy with customer representative groups.
	We know that many of our customers want the option of still being able to collect their benefit or pension at the Post Office and others like being able to use easy to operate accounts. And they will be able to do both these things25 or so bank accounts can already be used at the Post Office, and we hope there could be more in future. Post Office Ltd. has already introduced one new savings account, and is developing other savings and banking products which are likely to be more attractive to many of its customers than the current Post Office card account.
	Sub-postmasters are agents of Post Office Limited. Officials have met with Colin Bakerthe General Secretary of their National Federationon a number of occasions, and I will be meeting Mr. Baker in the summer.
	All of these discussions will be informed by evidence gathered in the recent pilots.

Carers Benefits

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the levels of carers' benefits were as a proportion of average income in 1997; what they were in the last period for which figures are available; and what changes in the level of carers' benefits have occurred since 1997.

Anne McGuire: Depending on their personal circumstances, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. In 1997-98, the average weekly amount of income maintenance benefits paid to working age carers entitled to carer's allowance was 59.74(1) or 22.6 per cent. of median income(2) in that year. In 2004-05, the latest year for which information is available, the corresponding figure was 82.08(1), or 23.5 per cent. of median income(2).
	We have increased the benefits available to carers in line with the movement in prices in every year since 1997-98. In 2001, we increased the carer premium in income support, and other income-related benefits, by an extra 10 a week. We have also increased the availability of carer's allowance by abolishing, in 2002, the age limit which precluded carers aged 65 and over from claiming carer's allowance. This change also gives older carers access to the additional amount for carers in pension credit. By linking the carer's allowance earnings limit to the level of the national insurance lower earnings limit , we have significantly increased the amount carers entitled to the benefit can earn from paid employment.
	(1) Estimates based on the Family Resources Survey 1997-98 and 2004-05.
	(2) Estimates based on Family Resources Survey data and are before housing costs.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

John Hutton: Paragraph 5.28 of the ministerial code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Financial Inclusion

Mr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he is taking to promote financial inclusion.

Anne McGuire: We continue to promote financial inclusion through improved access to banking and the supply of affordable credit as well as money advice.
	The 36 million allocated to the Growth Fund, which DWP is administering, will result in more affordable credit becoming available via, for example, local credit unions to people who might otherwise turn to doorstep lenders and loan sharks charging exorbitant rates of interest.

Health and Safety at Work

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to make individual  (a) directors and  (b) senior managers legally responsible (i) for health and safety and (ii) in cases when an employee is killed due to negligence by such an individual; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Individual directors and senior managers are already liable under the existing law of manslaughter, where their gross negligence has led to the death of an employee, and under existing health and safety law. The Government have asked the Health and Safety Commission to undertake further evaluation to assess the effectiveness and progress of the current measures in place, legislative and voluntary, on directors' responsibilities for occupational health and safety. The Health and Safety Commission is due to discuss the issue at their May 2006 meeting, following which the Commission will provide advice to Ministers.

Health and Safety Executive

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Health and Safety Executive has issued guidelines on carrying cans of paint on buses.

Anne McGuire: No. HSE sees no safety reason why an odd can of emulsion should not be carried on a public bus.

Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2006,  Official Report, column 717W, whether current problems sorting out administration remains the reason for not taking forward the options for simplifying non-dependant deductions set out in paragraph 10.54 of The Way Forward for Housing; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: As with all aspects of the benefit system, the provisions for non-dependants in housing benefit will continue to remain under review. Indeed, changes to the non-dependant deduction rules were made both in October 2003 and April 2005.
	Our Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work (Cm 6730) was published on 24 January 2006. The consultation period ended on 21 April 2006 and we are considering carefully the responses we have received on how best to reform housing benefit to meet with our wider welfare reform objectives.

Older People (Cross-Government Strategy)

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he is making on the cross-Government strategy for older people.

Anne McGuire: Opportunity Age, the Government's strategy for older people and an ageing society, was published last March. Since then we have:
	legislated against age discrimination in employmentthe law will come into force in October 2006. Age Positive week, launched 8 May 2006, will raise awareness of the changes that need to be made;
	rolled out Link Age services: joining up local services and increasing benefit take up;
	prepared for the launch of the Link Age Plus pilots, part of the wider Link Age programme. These pilots aim to build a robust evidence base for the case for joined up services, delivering better outcomes for older people. From July, up to eight locations will be selected as pilots to test ways of delivering fully integrated local services for older people: from health and leisure to work and learning. The pilots will draw on the approach in the Social Exclusion Unit's report, A Sure Start to Later Life: Ending Inequalities for Older People published on 26 January 2006. The report proposes a new model for delivering services to older people based on the Sure Start model for children and families. The Department for Work and Pensions project team will work with key partners and older people themselves to develop and deliver these holistic services. The programme will run over two years with funding of up to 10 million for the project;
	extended from April 2006, the existing statutory minimum requirement to guarantee people aged 60 and over in England free off-peak travel on their local area bus services, with no charge for the pass. This will benefit an estimated nine million people. The Government are providing an extra 420 million to implement this measure;
	published on 19 April 2006 A new ambition for old age, setting out plans to promote the dignity of older people in care and hospital settings as well as a programme of work to promote 'Active Ageing' to keep people healthy for longer;
	piloted individual budgets for disabled people and older people in 13 local authorities. The central idea behind individual budgets is to place users of care and support services, at the centre of the process and to give them the power to decide the nature of their own services; and
	supported people who want to work longerfor example, by improving pension deferral options from April 2005, and from October 2006 making it unlawful for employers to require someone to retire before 65 unless it can be shown to be appropriate and necessary. The legislation will create a default retirement age of 65, but will also create a right for employees to request working beyond a compulsory retirement age which employers will have a duty to consider.
	We will publish our White Paper on pensions reform by the end of the month.
	This is a major programme of action which will make a real difference to the wellbeing of older people and address the challenges of the ageing society.

Workplace Health Connect Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in establishing the West Midlands pathfinder of the Workplace Health Connect scheme.

Anne McGuire: Workplace Health Connect, including Workplace Health Connect West Midlands (the West Midlands 'pathfinder) launched on 23 February 2006 and is now up and running. The service provides free, impartial and practical advice and support on workplace health, safety and return to work issues to smaller businesses.
	The collaborative service, set up in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive offers an adviceline for England and Wales, and workplace visits from qualified Workplace Health Connect advisers. The workplace visits are available now, in the West Midlands and also the North East, North West, South Wales and Greater London.
	Human Focus Return to Work Limited operates Workplace Health Connect West Midlands and they have begun carrying out the workplace visits. They have also established a Regional Stakeholder Council which includes among others, representatives of small business, trade unions, the insurance industry, local authorities and a primary care trust.
	The West Midlands Stakeholder Council met for the first time on 24 February. The area covered by Workplace Health Connect West Midlands includes all unitary authorities and county districts as defined by the Government Office Region for West Midlands.
	93 per cent. of callers to Workplace Health Connect say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they have received. Smaller businesses (those with between five and 250 workers) and their workers can access the service by calling the adviceline on 0845 609 6006.
	Further information on the service can be found at: www.workplacehealthconnect.co.uk and www.hse.gov.uk/workplacehealth

TREASURY

Broadcasting

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the contribution to the economy of each public sector commercial broadcaster.

John Healey: HM Treasury has made no assessment of the contribution to the economy of the public sector commercial broadcasters.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the net revenue from council tax receipts was in  (a) England and  (b) Great Britain in each year since 1997-98; and if he will estimate what the revenue will be in 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The net revenue receipts (in  million) from council tax in England each year since 1997-98 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Net receipts ( million) 
			 1997-98 9,562 
			 1998-99 10,596 
			 1999-2000 11,493 
			 2000-01 12,410 
			 2001-02 13,359 
			 2002-03 14,624 
			 2003-04 16,574 
			 2004-05 17,592 
			 2005-06 18,354 
			 2006-07 19,067 
		
	
	The data for the net revenue receipts from council tax in Wales and Scotland are available from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive respectively.
	The data for 1997-98 to 2004-05 are taken from QRC4 forms and are outturn figures; this is gross council tax due less council tax benefit paid.
	The data for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are taken from BR1, BR2 and BR3 forms and are budget figures for council tax requirement less the amount council tax benefit expected to be paid in the year.

Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in his Department have been enabled to work from home in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Treasury encourages home working in appropriate circumstances and many staff work from home from time-to-time. Information relating to the number of staff who have worked from home is not available.

Income Tax

Ben Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost would be to the nearest 100 million of raising the personal tax allowance to 10,000 per annum.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of increasing to 10,000 all personal allowances, including age-related personal allowances, in 2006-07 is 28.0 billion.
	The income tax information is based upon the 2003-04 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and projected forward to 2006-07 in line with 2006 Budget HM Treasury assumptions.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax change which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Markets (Developing Nations)

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the  (a) International Monetary Fund and  (b) World Bank on its policy on opening up markets in developing nations.

Edward Balls: As the Chancellor set out in his statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on 22 April 2006, the international community must grasp the opportunity presented by the Doha Development Agenda of world trade talks to achieve an ambitious outcome, by the end of 2006, that will make a real contribution to poverty reduction. Concrete action is needed to provide significant increases in market access for developing countries. Effective special and differential treatment for developing countries is key to increasing growth in developing countries, integrating the most vulnerable countries into the world economy, and maintaining the credibility of the multilateral trading system.
	And as the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development set out in their joint statement to the Development Committee on 23 April 2006, developing countries should have the flexibility to decide, plan and sequence trade reforms within their own plans for development and poverty reduction.
	Additional support is also needed to help developing countries to build the physical, human and institutional capacity to trade. There is a key role for the Bank, working jointly with the Fund, in taking this agenda forward.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have conversations and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals as part of the process of policy development, analysis and delivery, including with the IMF and the World Bank.

Tax Debts

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of using private debt collection agencies to collect written off tax debts.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has no power to outsource the recovery of written off tax debts to private debt collection agencies. However, HMRC will always consider wider developments and compare its recovery operations against best practice in the private sector and other Government Departments.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the Valuation Office Agency uses to decide whether or not to classify a domestic residence as a composite hereditament.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The criteria applied by valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are set out in the council tax manual published by the VOA on its website at www.voa.gov.uk.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations the Valuation Office Agency has received on whether the London congestion charge zone  (a) represents a national change in circumstances for the valuation of and  (b) justifies amended valuations of inner London businesses for business rate purposes.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	Valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency in central London have received approximately 10,500 proposals from ratepayers or their agents to alter the rating lists, making representations that the Congestion Charge Zone has affected the rating valuation of their business premises.
	Whether a reduction in rateable value is justified will depend on the facts and circumstances of individual cases. These are matters for the valuation officers orin the absence of agreementfor the independent valuation tribunal or ultimately for the courts to decide.
	Most of the proposals made have been withdrawn with no amendment made to the assessments.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations the Valuation Office Agency has received on whether the acts of terrorism of 7 July 2005  (a) represent a material change in circumstances for the revaluation of and  (b) justify amended valuations of inner London businesses for business rate purposes.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency in central London have received approximately 400 proposals from ratepayers or their agents to alter the rating lists on the grounds that they consider the terrorist bombings of 7 July 2005 to have affected the rating valuation of their business premises. However whether any reductions in rateable value are justified will depend on the facts and circumstances of individual cases. These are matters for valuation officers orin the absence of agreementfor the independent valuation tribunal or ultimately the courts to decide.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Burial Spaces

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she plans to issue to local authorities in the sustainable communities growth areas on the provision of adequate burial spaces; and if he will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The need for guidance for all local authorities on the provision of burial space is one of the matters we are considering in the course of our current review of burial law and practice. As I explained in my statement on 7 November 2005,  Official Report, column 3WS, the Government will inform the House of its plans to bring forward proposals for burial law reform later this year.

Business Growth (Staffordshire)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) Tamworth borough council and  (b) Staffordshire county council received under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive in 2005-06; and what proportion of the amount retained by each local authority has been allocated to supporting business growth to date.

Phil Woolas: Tamworth borough council received 284,163 and Staffordshire county council received 1,091,656 under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme (LABGI) in 2005-06.
	All monies awarded under the LABGI scheme are not ring-fenced and we do not hold information on their use. It is for local authorities to decide how their LABGI reward is spent. Some may invest in further business growth while others may choose to invest in better public services for their communities or to keep down council tax pressures.

Children's Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many nursery and crche places are provided for people working in his Office; what charges are made for the provision of such services; and what other facilities are provided for the children of employees of her Office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is a member of the Westminster Holiday Playscheme that runs every school holiday. The ODPM funds 50 per cent. of the cost of places and the cost to staff is 12.50 per child. For the latest scheme (30 May 2006 to 2 June 2006) 42 places were available for the entire scheme although the number allocated to OPDM staff has not yet been confirmed. For previous schemes the following number of places were allocated:
	
		
			   Places 
			 Easter 2005 13 
			 June 2005 8 
			 Summer 2005 16 
			 October 2005 3 
			 December 2005 7 
			 April 2006 7 
		
	
	The ODPM also runs a Childcare Vouchers Scheme. Full time staff are eligible to receive vouchers to a maximum value of 23 per week (part time staff will receive vouchers pro rata in relation to the numbers of hours they work). To be eligible for these vouchers staff must be employed by the Crown and work as a civil servant in ODPM on a permanent or fixed-term contract. Unless they are a single parent or their partner is disabled or in full time education, the member of staff's partner must be in full time employment The member of staff or their partner must not be receiving support for the same child from another employer or another government department.
	The child that they are claiming child care vouchers for must:
	 (a) Be living with the member of staff
	 (b) Be under five years old
	 (c) Not be in full time education;
	The child carer must be registered.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households pay council tax, excluding those on 100 per cent. council tax benefit.

Phil Woolas: The number of chargeable dwellings liable for council tax in England as at November 2005 was 21,267,000. This figure includes any dwellings entitled to discounts but excludes any exempt dwellings. 401,000 of these chargeable dwellings were either second homes or long-term empty homes.
	In 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, there were an estimated 3,148,500 households in England receiving council tax benefit for 100 per cent. of their council tax liability.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the average council tax per dwelling in each Government office region was in England in each year since 1997-98.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Average council tax per dwelling in England 
			   
			  Government office region  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-1  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 North East 534 576 613 645 676 735 801 851 891 928 
			 North West (1)591 (1)556 (1)653 698 732 772 840 881 918 961 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 514 550 590 622 663 712 786 836 876 917 
			 East Midlands 600 548 631 672 713 784 859 916 952 994 
			 West Midlands 490 548 632 670 718 111 855 901 939 979 
			 East of England 542 524 667 714 762 842 970 1,036 1,078 1,129 
			 London 597 627 669 713 764 819 969 1,035 1,078 1,128 
			 South East 601 573 714 760 809 887 1,026 1,098 1,147 1,201 
			 South West 559 600 658 704 745 823 938 1,008 1,054 1,107 
			 Merseyside(2) 587 669 719
			 (1) Excludes Merseyside. (2) Included in North West from 2000-01.  Note: Amounts shown for average council tax per dwelling include amounts funded from council tax benefit.  Source: BR and CTB1 returns

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list  (a) the websites operated by her Department and  (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The websites operated by the Office of the Deputy Prime are listed as follows:
	www.odpm.gov.uk
	www.neighbourhood.gov.uk
	www.socialexclusion.gov.uk
	www.bvpi.gov.uk (Best value performance indicators)
	www.frsonline.fire.gov.uk
	www.spkweb.org.uk (Supporting people programme)
	http://www.gos. gov.uk/national/ (Government office for the regions)
	www.localegov.gov.uk
	www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
	www.info4local.gov.uk
	www.firekills.gov.uk (Fire safety campaigns)
	www.renewal.net
	www.cleanersafergreener.gov.uk
	www.iggi.gov.uk (Intra governmental geographic information)
	www.planningportal.gov.uk
	www.futureleadership.gov.uk
	www.spdirectory.org.uk (Supporting people directory of services)
	www.nlud.org.uk (National land use directory)
	www.firesafetytoolbox.org.uk
	www.firelink.org.uk
	www.localvisionforum.net
	www.bmespark.org.uk (Black minority ethnic supporting people)
	www.xoq83.dial.pipex.com (Local government pension scheme)
	 (b) The following reports were published on the internet during March 2006. The list indicates whether print versions have been made available. In addition we operate a print on demand facility for all web only publications.
	
		
			  Document title  Print version available  Web only (i.e. PDF) 
			 A Decision Document on the Scope of Development Control Powers to be Conferred on the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation No Yes 
			 A Final Report to ODPM Building Regulations Division Under the Building Operational Performance Framework No Yes 
			 Alternative Approaches to Neighbourhood Management: Seven case study summariesResearch report 27 No Yes 
			 Alternative Approaches to Neighbourhood Management: Six full case study reports No Yes 
			 An Exploratory Assessment of the Economic Case for Regeneration Investment from a National Perspective No Yes 
			 Approved Document F: Ventilation (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power (New dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L2A: Conservation of fuel and power (New buildings other than dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L2B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing buildings other than dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document P: Electrical safetyDwellings (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Assessing the Impact of Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Interventions: Displacement issues No Yes 
			 Asthma/Dust Mite Study: Final report No Yes 
			 Building Operational Performance Framework: Development of acoustic performance standards for robust detailsFinal report No Yes 
			 Changes to Planning Regulations for Casinos: Circular 02/06 Yes No 
			 Changes to the Use Classes Order for Casinos: Full regulatory impact assessment No Yes 
			 Codes of Practice for Student Accommodation: Responses to consultation on approved codes No Yes 
			 Community Management and Ownership of Assets: Final report from the work group to the neighbourhoods project board No Yes 
			 Consent Regimes: Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy No Yes 
			 Design Coding in Practice: An evaluationUrban research summary 22 Yes No 
			 Development of Commercial and Industrial Vacancy Statistics: Technical report No Yes 
			 English House Condition Survey 2003: Annual reportDecent homes and decent places Yes No 
			 English House Condition Survey 2004: Headline reportDecent homes and decent places Yes No 
			 English House Condition Survey: Summary of the 2003 annual reportDecent homes and decent places No Yes 
			 English Regional Governance in 2004 No Yes 
			 English Regional Governance in 2004: Quantitative study of baseline data No Yes 
			 Ex-Post Evaluation of the English, Scottish and Welsh Objective 5b Programmes No Yes 
			 Fire Control Governance Arrangements: Consultation on detailed proposals No Yes 
			 Fire Service Emergency Cover Toolkit Review Manual No Yes 
			 Guidance For New Home Occupiers: Final report No Yes 
			 Guidance on New Financial Arrangements for Firefighter Pensions with Effect from April 2006 No Yes 
			 Home Save Product Testing: Qualitative research findings No Yes 
			 Houses in Multiple Occupation and Selective Licensing Draft Regulations: Response to consultation No Yes 
			 Implementing Electronic Government 6: Proforma document for national park authorities No Yes 
			 Innovative Products and Building Regulations No Yes 
			 Listed Buildings Casework: A consultation paper Yes No 
			 Local Area Agreements: Guidance for round three and refresh of rounds one and two No Yes 
			 London Aggregates Working Party: Annual Report 2005 Yes No 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme Baseline Report: SummaryResearch report 26 No Yes 
			 Neighbourhood Management: At the turning point? Research report 23 Yes No 
			 New Firefighters' Pension Scheme Guidance Templates No Yes 
			 ODPM Evidence Innovation Strategy 2005-08: Consultation paper No Yes 
			 ODPM's Sustainable Development Action Plan No Yes 
			 Part L and Approved Document F, 2006: Regulatory impact assessment Yes No 
			 Planning Delivery Grant Final Allocations 2006-2007 No Yes 
			 Planning for Biodiversity and Geological Conservation: A guide to good practice Yes No 
			 Planning Inquiries into Major Infrastructure Projects: Economic impact reports: Circular 04/06 Yes No 
			 Potential Further Developments of Fire Service Emergency Cover No Yes 
			 Provisions on Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Regulatory impact assessment No Yes 
			 Research into the Effectiveness of Youth Training and Diversion Schemes No Yes 
			 Review of the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development: Final report No Yes 
			 Rolling Out Neighbourhood Management: A theme report from the Pathfinder Programme National EvaluationResearch report 25 No Yes 
			 Sanitation Research Framework Agreement Supporting the Building Regulations Research Programme No Yes 
			 Small Firms Impact Test: New proposals for Part L of the Building Regulations No Yes 
			 State of the English Cities Yes No 
			 Summary of Responses on Changes to Planning Regulations for Casinos No Yes 
			 Sustainable Communities: Settled homes; changing livesOne year onPolicy briefing 14 Yes No 
			 Take-Up Campaign and Implementing Electronic Government Submission Letter No Yes 
			 The Building Regulations and the Building (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2000: ODPM circular 03/2006 Yes No 
			 The Guide to the Right to Manage: Consultation paper Yes No 
			 The National Evaluation of Single Local Management Centres: Research report 22 Yes No 
			 The Planning Delivery Grant Determination 2006 No. 31/286 Yes No 
			 The Production of Smoke and Burning Droplets from Products Used to Form Wall and Ceiling Linings No Yes 
			 Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Schools: Guidance report 202825 No Yes 
			 Total 22 42

Deprivation (Somerset)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the local authority wards in  (a) Yeovil constituency and  (b) Somerset which are in the top 30 per cent. of wards in England by multiple deprivation indicators; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (IMD 2004) was constructed at lower layer super output area (SOA) level and not at ward level. The new geographical unit was introduced to overcome the problems associated with wardsfrequent boundary changes and differences in population sizes. With an average population of 1,500 people, SOAs are far better than wards at picking up small pockets of deprivation.
	The following table includes the list of SOAs in Yeovil constituency and Somerset that fall within the 30 per cent. most deprived SOAs in England. The data shows that of the 74 SOAs in Yeovil constituency only seven (9.5 per cent.) fall within the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged SOAs in England and all seven of these are located in the borough of South Somerset. In total there are 327 SOAs in the local authorities that make up Somerset (including Yeovil). Of these 40 (12 per cent.) are among the 30 per cent. most deprived in England. The most deprived SOA (EO1029106) is located in Bridgwater Sydenham in Sedgemoor.
	
		
			  SOA code  Local authority name  Government office region  Rank of IMD( 1) 
			 E01029046 Mendip South West 4,318 
			 E01029062 Mendip South West 5,071 
			 E01029042 Mendip South West 8,270 
			 E01029048 Mendip South West 8,944 
			 E01029106 Sedgemoor South West 2,580 
			 E01029100 Sedgemoor South West 4,344 
			 E01029132 Sedgemoor South West 4,545 
			 E01029109 Sedgemoor South West 5,611 
			 E01029107 Sedgemoor South West 5,982 
			 E01029112 Sedgemoor South West 6,755 
			 E01029111 Sedgemoor South West 7,280 
			 E01029095 Sedgemoor South West 7,321 
			 E01029110 Sedgemoor South West 7,717 
			 E01029098 Sedgemoor South West 7,947 
			 E01029099 Sedgemoor South West 8,588 
			 E01029105 Sedgemoor South West 8,959 
			 E01029097 Sedgemoor South West 9,086 
			 E01029096 Sedgemoor South West 9,310 
			 E01029116 Sedgemoor South West 9,513 
			 E01029131 Sedgemoor South West 9,605 
			 E01029234 South Somerset(2) South West 5,363 
			 E01029247 South Somerset(2) South West 5,715 
			 E01029239 South Somerset(2) South West 5,855 
			 E01029236 South Somerset South West 7,883 
			 E01029233 South Somerset South West 8,442 
			 E01029170 South Somerset South West 8,974 
			 E01029237 South Somerset South West 9,065 
			 E01029293 Taunton Deane South West 3,349 
			 E01029297 Taunton Deane South West 4,923 
			 E01029292 Taunton Deane South West 4,928 
			 E01029299 Taunton Deane South West 7,840 
			 E01029311 Taunton Deane South West 8,606 
			 E01029280 Taunton Deane South West 8,623 
			 E01029286 Taunton Deane South West 9,112 
			 E01029307 Taunton Deane South West 9,628 
			 E01029344 West Somerset South West 7,397 
			 E01029339 West Somerset South West 8,303 
			 E01029341 West Somerset South West 8,835 
			 E01029326 West Somerset South West 9,504 
			 E01029333 West Somerset South West 9,655 
			 (1) Where one is most deprived.  (2) All in Yeovil Parli.

Disability Equality

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice she has issued to local authorities on how they should implement their disability equality duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not issued advice to local authorities on how to implement their disability equality dutythat is a matter for them. The Disability Rights Commission has produced a code of practice on how to implement the duty.

E-Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets the Government have set local authorities in each Implementing Electronic Government round with regards to the  (a) National Land and Property Gazetteer and (b) Local Land and Property Gazetteer; and what the outturn results have been in each relevant year.

Phil Woolas: There are no statutory Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) targets for the National Land and Property Gazetteer and Local Land and Property Gazetteer, although information is collected through the IEG return to inform national policy. In December 2005, 87 per cent. of local authorities in England had established a regularly-maintained link from their Local Land  Property Gazetteer (LLPG) to the National Land  Property Gazetteer (NLPG), with 13 per cent. in the process of implementing this link.

Fire Stations

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the fire stations where  (a) closures and  (b) appliance reductions are currently planned, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: These are matters decided locally through a fire and rescue authority's integrated risk management plan and as Ministers have no role to play in the determination of appropriate fire cover and the level of service in any fire and rescue authority, this information is not held centrally.

GLA Precept

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what was the Greater London Authority precept, and its predecessor fire/police precepts in London, on an average band D property in each year since 1996-97; and what the figure is for 2005-06.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Greater London Authority precept, and its predecessor fire/police precepts in London, on an average band D property since 1997-98, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   
			   Metropolitan police  London Fire and Civil Defence  GLA 
			 1996-97 56 21  
			 1997-98 63 25  
			 1998-99 76 26  
			 1999-2000 83 28  
			 2000-01   123 
			 2001-02   151 
			 2002-03   174 
			 2003-04   224 
			 2004-05   241 
			 2005-06   255 
		
	
	The data are as reported on BR2 and BR3 forms submitted by the respective authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year.

Homelessness

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless households were accepted by local authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need in the East of England in 2004-05; and how many such households contained  (a) (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three or more children and  (b) an expectant mother but no other children.

Yvette Cooper: The total number of households accepted during 2004-05 by local authorities in the East of England Government office region as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need was 10,150, of which 5,020 contained dependent children. Of these 5,020, 2,820 had one child, 1,370 had two children and 830 had three or more children. An additional 1,410 households contained an expectant mother, but no other dependent children.

Local Government (Representation)

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the merits of introducing single member wards in the metropolitan districts in England.

Phil Woolas: We have launched a public debate about the governance arrangements for local areas. We are listening to all views on governance arrangements, some of which may have implications for electoral arrangements in local authorities. We plan to publish a White Paper on the future of local government in the summer.

Local Government (Representation)

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration has been given to altering the elections by thirds pattern of democracy in the metropolitan districts of England.

Phil Woolas: We have launched a public debate about the governance arrangements for local areas. We are listening to all views on governance arrangements, some of which may have implications for electoral arrangements in local authorities. We plan to publish a White Paper on the future of local government in the summer.

Local Government Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much additional income has been raised as a result of local authorities using their discretionary power to abolish the council tax discount on empty homes since 2004; to whom has this additional income been allocated; and on what it has been spent.

Phil Woolas: The amount of additional revenue raised by local authorities using their discretionary powers to reduce the council tax discounts on long-term empty homes was:
	49 million in 2004-05; and
	72 million in 2005-06.
	This additional revenue raised is retained by local authorities. The increase in council tax base is taken into account in calculating formula grant. Any net increase in revenue for a local authority is not ring-fenced for spending on any particular activity.
	These figures are estimates based on information reported by local authorities on the CTB1 and CTB1 (S) forms.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average council tax per  (a) dwelling and  (b) Band D in each local authority in England was in each year since 1997-98.

Phil Woolas: Details of the average council tax per dwelling and Band D in each local authority in England are published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. The details can be found under Information For Taxpayers at Council Taxes at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which billing authority has the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest Band D council tax in England for 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: Details of the Band D council tax in each local authority in England in 2006-07 are published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. The details can be found under Information For Taxpayers at Council Taxes at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what percentage of  (a) council tax and  (b) business rates was not collected by each of the 10 metropolitan districts in the county of Greater Manchester in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The following tables provide amounts of  (a) council tax and  (b) non-domestic rates in each of the last five years not collected in-year, and expressed as a percentage of the amount collectable in year.
	
		
			  Amount of council tax not collected and as percentage of amount collectable 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			   000  %  000  %  000  %  000  %  000  % 
			 Bolton 3,860 6.4 3,433 5.3 3,252 4.8 3,080 4.1 3,153 4.1 
			 Bury 1,713 4.0 1,431 3.1 1,342 2.7 1,451 2.6 1,512 2.7 
			 Manchester 3,863 5.8 4,171 5.8 10,020 12.1 9,370 10.5 9,192 9.7 
			 Oldham 2,030 4.2 2,334 4.4 2,881 5.2 2,637 4.2 2,358 3.6 
			 Rochdale 2,199 5.0 2,157 4.6 1,960 3.9 1,806 3.3 1,966 3.5 
			 Salford 2,879 6.0 5,958 11.2 5,179 9.3 5,256 8.6 5,993 9.4 
			 Stockport 3,104 3.7 3,576 4.0 4,063 4.3 4,201 4.2 3,754 3.6 
			 Tameside 1,536 3.2 1,586 3.1 1,508 2.8 1,628 2.9 1,605 2.7 
			 Trafford 1,895 3.9 2,060 4.0 2,144 3.9 2,233 3.6 2,411 3.5 
			 Wigan 2,874 4.2 2,739 3.7 2,563 3.3 2,732 3.2 2,708 3.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Amount of national non-domestic rates not collected and as percentage of amount collectable 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			   000  %  000  %  000  %  000  %  000  % 
			 Bolton 2,028 3.6 912 1.5 1,120 1.7 1,982 3.0 1,140 1.7 
			 Bury 710 2.2 553 1.6 515 1.5 392 1.1 694 2.0 
			 Manchester 5,145 3.1 5,690 2.9 9,206 4.3 10,232 4.8 9,615 4.5 
			 Oldham 1,530 3.8 995 2.3 1,250 2.9 1,207 2.7 1,348 2.9 
			 Rochdale 1,462 3.3 1,555 3.2 990 2.0 629 1.3 754 1.5 
			 Salford 2,585 4.3 2,683 4.2 2,637 3.8 2,075 3.0 2,196 3.2 
			 Stockport 2,243 3.5 1,916 2.8 2,311 3.3 1,661 2.4 1,591 2.2 
			 Tameside 212 0.6 937 2.5 576 1.5 432 1.1 529 1.3 
			 Trafford 4,396 4.4 4,567 4.3 3,224 2.9 2,420 2.2 3,043 2.7 
			 Wigan 1,504 2.9 1,666 2.9 1,405 2.4 1,379 2.3 1,456 2.4

Local Government Finance

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on average in real terms by  (a) district councils and  (b) shire county councils on employing staff in (i) 1998 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Average expenditure on employees by district councils and shire county councils in England in 1998-99 and 2004-05 at 2004-05 prices are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   million 
			   District councils  Shire county councils 
			 1998-99 8.4 304.5 
			 2004-05 11.3 448.5 
		
	
	Total expenditure on employees is reported by local authorities to ODPM on Revenue Outturn (RO) forms. This includes all direct and indirect employee expenses and contributions to employee-related provisions, including national insurance contributions, pensions and employee related expenses.
	The 1998-99 prices have been re-valued at 2004-05 prices using the latest ONS/HMT GDP deflators.
	The large difference in employee expenditure between district and shire county councils is due to the different responsibilities different types of councils have.
	Figures for 2004-05 are not directly comparable with figures for 1998-99. This is because the outturn data for 1998-99 have been calculated on a non-FRS (Financial Reporting Standard) 17 basis while the outturn data for 2004-05 have been calculated on a FRS 17 basis.

Local Government Finance

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total expenditure of local authorities was in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: Total revenue expenditure of local authorities in England in each of the last five years can be found in table 4 of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Statistical Release: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2004-05 final outturn. This release is on the ODPM website at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/natstats.htm#rev.
	Figures in this table are presented on a non-financial reporting standard 17 (FRS17) basis.

Local Referendums

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) fire authorities,  (b) police authorities,  (c) parish councils and  (d) the Greater London Authority have powers to organise and hold local polls or referendums on local issues.

Phil Woolas: Fire authorities and police authorities have no powers to hold local referendums. Parish councils do not have powers to organise and hold local referendums, but electors can demand a referendum on a question arising at a parish meeting, which is carried out by the district council. The Greater London Authority has powers to organise and hold referendums on local issues.

Local Strategic Partnerships

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether members of local strategic partnerships are subject to the Local Government Code of Conduct;
	(2)  whether a local authority is permitted to provide information to a local strategic partnership which it has not given to local councillors;
	(3)  what provision there is for local councillors to put  (a) oral and  (b) written questions to the local strategic partnership;
	(4)  whether there is a requirement for local strategic partnerships to report  (a) verbally and  (b) in writing to the local authority.

Phil Woolas: Outside of Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas local strategic partnerships are currently voluntary partnerships governed by non-statutory guidance issued in 2001, as such there is no requirement for the partnership collectively to report verbally or in writing to the local authority or a centrally-specified formal mechanism for local councillors to put  (a) oral and  (b) written questions to the local strategic partnership.
	The 2001 guidance 'Local Strategic Partnerships' states that
	'Individual local authorities working within LSPs need to determine which elected members are involved and what role they should play'.
	The guidance also states that:
	'It should be ensured that councillors are properly included in the process'.
	It is therefore for each area to determine the way in which LSPs and councillors interact.
	The local Government Act 2000 provides for a code of conduct to apply to members and co-opted members of every relevant authority. The Standards Board of England policies this code. Non-local authority members would conduct themselves with reference to their own professional or corporate code of conduct and comply with any advice that accompanies this.
	We have recently consulted on the future role of LSPs and are considering responses to this.

Local Vision Forum Website

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unique visitors the http://www.localvisionforum.net/ website has received in each month since its establishment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The visitor statistics for www.localvisionforum.net are as follows.
	
		
			   2006 
			   March  April 
			 Visits to the forum homepage 2,052 2,270 
			 Unique visitors to the forum 977 1,194 
		
	
	As at 25 April 2006, 538 individuals have registered to use the forum, who between them have made 114 written contributions to the consultation through the forum.

Local Vision Forum Website

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government spent on creating the http://www.localvisionforum.net/ website.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was not charged for the local vision forum. It was created as part of the DCA-funded Digital Dialogues project, evaluated by the Hansard Society, to investigate Government use of ICT to promote digital democracy.

Non-domestic Hereditaments

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many non-domestic hereditaments were shown in the rating list for England, under the description of communication stations, in the local authority area of  (a) Brentwood and  (b) Epping Forest in (i) 1998 and (ii) 2005.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 20 December 2005,  Official Report, column 2836W, and 20 January 2006,  Official Report, column 2836W.

Ordnance Survey

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with what work on intelligent speed adaptation technology on roads Ordnance Survey is assisting.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ordnance Survey data is being used in a pilot of intelligent speed adaptation technology in London. The pilot involves co-operative working between organisations from government and the private sector.

Police Precept

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the police precept is on Band D bills in each police authority in  (a) 1997-98 and  (b) 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: The council tax precepts levied by each police authority on Band D properties in 1997-98 and 2006-07 are shown in s in the following table.
	
		
			   
			   1997-98  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset Police Authority 52 138 
			 Bedfordshire Police Authority 53 118 
			 Cambridgeshire Police Authority 51 142 
			 Cheshire Police Authority 51 108 
			 Cleveland Police Authority 55 151 
			 Cumbria Police Authority 58 163 
			 Derbyshire Police Authority 51 135 
			 Devon and Cornwall Police Authority 50 126 
			 Dorset Police Authority 64 149 
			 Durham Police Authority 52 101 
			 Essex Police Authority 54 111 
			 Gloucestershire Police Authority 51 171 
			 Greater Manchester Police Authority 54 111 
			 Hampshire Police Authority 52 119 
			 Hertfordshire Police Authority 52 124 
			 Humberside Police Authority 52 142 
			 Kent Police Authority 52 116 
			 Lancashire Police Authority 53 113 
			 Leicestershire Police Authority 52 132 
			 Lincolnshire Police Authority 69 125 
			 Merseyside Police Authority 67 121 
			 Metropolitan Police Authority 63 211 
			 Norfolk Police Authority 51 154 
			 North Yorkshire Police Authority 50 180 
			 Northamptonshire Police Authority 71 162 
			 Northumbria Police Authority 53 72 
			 Nottinghamshire Police Authority 50 132 
			 South Yorkshire Police Authority 53 113 
			 Staffordshire Police Authority 55 153 
			 Suffolk Police Authority 51 131 
			 Surrey Police Authority 45 163 
			 Sussex Police Authority 52 116 
			 Thames Valley Police Authority 53 133 
			 Warwickshire Police Authority 52 139 
			 West Mercia Police Authority 51 150 
			 West Midlands Police Authority 53 88 
			 West Yorkshire Police Authority 53 112 
			 Wiltshire Police Authority 55 133

Police Precept

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what revenue was raised from the police precept on council tax in 1997-98 in each police authority in England and Wales; and what the forecast is for 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: The police precepts levied in 1997-98 and 2006-07 for each police authority in England are shown in 000s in the following table.
	We do not hold data for police authorities in Wales; the data are available from the Welsh Assembly Government.
	
		
			  000 
			   1997-98  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset Police Authority 25,562 74,378 
			 Bedfordshire Police Authority 9,502 23,381 
			 Cambridgeshire Police Authority 11,706 36,725 
			 Cheshire Police Authority 17,123 39,432 
			 Cleveland Police Authority 8,595 25,136 
			 Cumbria Police Authority 9,229 28,314 
			 Derbyshire Police Authority 15,094 43,121 
			 Devon and Cornwall Police Authority 26,296 74,183 
			 Dorset Police Authority 16,604 42,843 
			 Durham Police Authority 8,882 18,375 
			 Essex Police Authority 29,275 69,094 
			 Gloucestershire Police Authority 10,047 36,692 
			 Greater Manchester Police Authority 40,168 85,790 
			 Hampshire Police Authority 31,760 79,278 
			 Hertfordshire Police Authority 17,586 53,433 
			 Humberside Police Authority 13,435 39,924 
			 Kent Police Authority 28,699 70,894 
			 Lancashire Police Authority 22,860 52,278 
			 Leicestershire Police Authority 14,504 40,463 
			 Lincolnshire Police Authority 13,398 27,957 
			 Merseyside Police Authority 27,025 51,479 
			 Metropolitan Police Authority 181,828 607,418 
			 Norfolk Police Authority 13,026 44,024 
			 North Yorkshire Police Authority 12,993 52,165 
			 Northamptonshire Police Authority 13,422 35,954 
			 Northumbria Police Authority 21,251 30,464 
			 Nottinghamshire Police Authority 14,917 42,586 
			 South Yorkshire Police Authority 18,867 42,295 
			 Staffordshire Police Authority 17,712 53,360 
			 Suffolk Police Authority 11,300 31,976 
			 Surrey Police Authority 15,039 78,662 
			 Sussex Police Authority 29,062 70,990 
			 Thames Valley Police Authority 40,616 110,771 
			 Warwickshire Police Authority 9,171 27,019 
			 West Mercia Police Authority 19,658 64,289 
			 West Midlands Police Authority 39,556 67,997 
			 West Yorkshire Police Authority 31,837 73,219 
			 Wiltshire Police Authority 11,778 31,609

Public Relations/Marketing Agencies

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) public relations,  (b) marketing and  (c) communication agencies her Department (i) employs, (ii) plan to employ and (iii) have employed in the last 12 months; and if she will state the purpose of each such employment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the last 12 months the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have employed the following Public Relations agencies:
	The Central Office of Informationworking on Fire Safety
	Blue Rubicon - working on the Local E-Gov take up campaign and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme awareness campaign.
	Band and Brownworking on the awareness campaign for Home Information Packs
	Amazonworking on Houses of Multiple Occupancy Property Licence, and the Housing Heath and Safety Rating System.
	The marketing and communications agencies used by the Office over the last 12 months are as follows.
	Carat and COImedia buying
	Euro RSCGworking on Fire Safety advertising, and Houses of Multiple Occupancy Property Licence, Tenancy Deposit Scheme and Fire Order Reform
	Leo BurnettHome Information Pack advertising
	Rainey KellyFire Service recruitment advertising
	All future work will be tendered through the COI agency roster or by open competition.

Rate Relief (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many businesses have received small business rate relief in the Tamworth borough council area since it was introduced.

Phil Woolas: This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Exclusion Unit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funds have been allocated to the Social Exclusion Unit for each of the last eight years.

Phil Woolas: The expenditure of the Social Exclusion Unit for the last eight years is set out as follows.
	
		
			
			 1998-99 681,119 
			 1999-2000 1,570,000 
			 2000-01 2,246,247 
			 2001-02 2,156,000 
			 2002-03 2,676,418 
			 2003-04 2,931,192 
			 2004-05 3,442,100 
			 2005-06 2,697,300

Social Services Funding

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account is taken in local government social services funding formulae of the proportion of  (a) over-65s,  (b) over-75s and  (c) over-85s in the local population.

Phil Woolas: The basic amount for the social services for older people relative need formula is based on the number of household and supported residents aged 65 years and over. A further top-up is provided based on the proportion of such residents aged 90 and over. The full formula is described in section 4 of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2006-07.

Supporting People Programme

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid to each relevant local authority in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06 under the Supporting People programme; how much she plans to allocate to each in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Supporting People is administered through top-tier local authorities and, for the area in question, the relevant authorities are Buckinghamshire county council and Milton Keynes council. The grants paid or due to those authorities for the years 2004-05 to 2007-08 are as set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Buckinghamshire county council 
			 Supporting People Programme Grant 5,882,637 5,586,354 5,489,753 5,215,265 
			 Supporting People Administration Grant 331,994 265,595 265,595 265,595 
			  
			  Milton Keynes council 
			 Supporting People Programme Grant 5,616,818 5,333,923 5,241,687 4,979,603 
			 Supporting People Administration Grant 211,126 143,301 143,301 143,301 
		
	
	In line with my announcement of 5 December 2005, the programme grant allocations given in the aforementioned table for each authority for 2007-08 are minimum allocations, set at 95 per cent. of the allocations for 2006-07. This approach has been taken to allow us to consider, following the recent consultation on the development of a Supporting People strategy, how best to approach future programme grant allocations. Full programme grant allocations for all Supporting People authorities will be confirmed before the 2006 summer recess.
	Similarly, the administration grant allocations given in the table for each authority for 2007-08 are indicative allocations, and allocations will be confirmed before the 2006 summer recess.
	Allocations for all authorities for 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be set following the conclusion of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter written by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to local authority chief executives on their statutory obligations referred to in the Summary of VOA and Authorities Liaison Group Meeting of 2 July 2003.

Phil Woolas: The letter referred to in the Summary of VOA and Local Authorities Liaison Group meeting of 2 July 2003 was a draft prepared by the VGA's head office. It was made available on 4 July 2003 for local valuation officers to send to chief executives of those local authorities that were not fully undertaking their statutory obligations to supply information to valuation officers. It reminded them of their responsibilities and sought meetings to improve co-operation. A copy of the draft letter has been placed in the Library as requested.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's policy is on the council tax or business rates liability of live-work units; andwhat changes have been made to this policy since1997.

Phil Woolas: The criteria applied by valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are set out in the Council Tax Manual published by the VOA on its website at www.voa.gov.uk. The guidance was last updated on 4 March 2004 to reflect the decision of the Lands Tribunal in the case of Tully  v. Jorgensen (VO) 2003 RA 233.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Armed Forces (Inquests)

Alex Salmond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many inquests remain to be heard in relation to members of the armed forces who  (a) lost their lives as a result of military duties in Iraq since 2003 and  (b) lost their lives as a result of such duties in  (i) 2004 and  (ii) 2005; and in how many such cases an inquest has not been concluded a year after death.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 27 April 2006
	Bodies from military personnel who died in Iraq are returned to the UK via RAF Brize Norton within the jurisdiction of the Oxfordshire coroner. I understand from the Oxfordshire coroner that 31 inquests remain to be heard from 2003, nine from 2004 and seven from 2005. Information about the number of such inquests being concluded within 12 months of the death is not available.

Children's Legal Centre

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been paid in legal aid to the Children's Legal Centre in each of the last three years.

Harriet Harman: The legal aid paid to the Children's Legal Centre in each of the last three years is as follows
	
		
			
			 2005-06 279,983 
			 2004-05 183,023 
			 2003-04 98,896 
		
	
	These figures represent payments to the Children's Legal Centre for legal services provided to publicly funded clients.

Civil Courts (Enforcement of Judgments)

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress her Department has made in drafting a Bill to improve enforcement of judgments in the civil court system; when she expects the Bill to be ready to introduce into Parliament; and what measures her Department is planning to include in the Bill.

Harriet Harman: The Bill is currently being drafted and we are hoping to publish in draft this session.
	The Bill will then be formally introduced when Parliamentary time allows, and will include provisions for charging orders, attachment of earnings and information sharing.

Community Justice

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking in order to facilitate the creation of community courts and community justice panels in Nottingham and elsewhere; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: In Nottingham the Chief Crown Prosecutor has held discussions with local agencies about developing the concept of Community Justice.
	Elsewhere the CPS is involved in two Community Justice projectsthe Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool and the Salford Community Justice Initiative. Both of which were launched at the end of last year.
	We will consider the lessons learned from the Liverpool and Salford projects and work with local agencies to determine ways the concept can be applied elsewhere.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which classes of  (a) litigants and  (b) former litigants are entitled to have money in the Court Fund Special Account; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Those entitled to have money in the Special Account are:
	Adults who lack mental capacity whose funds are either controlled by the Court of Protection or who have had monies awarded to them which are held under the jurisdiction of a county court, the High Court or a district registry
	Children who have received an award as a result of litigation
	There are also a very small number of instances where monies were placed in the Court Funds Special Account prior to 1 April 1983 and have not yet been paid out or transferred to the Unclaimed Balances account. The main component of these is widows' funds. There are twenty-nine widows' accounts remaining and most of these result from industrial fatal injury cases originating in the 1950s and 1960s where the judges paid the money into court rather than direct to the surviving spouse.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the possible alternatives to the Court Fund Special Account available to litigants and Court of Protection clients; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the cost was of the  (a) consultants and (b) departmental staff used to conduct the investment and banking review within her Department; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what representations she has received on the future of the Court Funds Office and the Court Fund Special Account; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  when she expects to publish the outcome of her Department's Investment and Banking Review; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  who conducted her Department's Investment and Banking Review; how he was appointed; what qualifications he holds; when he reported to Ministers; and if she will make a statement;
	(6)  what plans she has to change the Court Funds Special Account; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: A review of the Banking and Investment activities within the Department for Constitutional Affairs was completed in October 2003. Within this report the role of the Court Funds Office was considered. The review was carried out by an independent reviewer who is a Member of the Securities Institute. They were engaged as a result of a requirement to provide expert advice for a review of DCA's investment and banking operations that was not available 'in house'. The review required detailed knowledge of the regulation of financial services and the investment market and they were selected for their comprehensive knowledge of the investment and banking industry.
	The report was commissioned at a cost of 60,000 which included all departmental staff costs.
	The Department has in place an Investment and Banking Programme. The Programme is looking at the operations of the Court Funds Office, its constituent parts and any alternatives, within the context of Departmental policy and priorities. This work is still in progress and propositions for change may be developed. If that is the case the Government will engage with interested parties.
	There are no plans to publish the internal report which has informed Government policy and other than the activity described in this question I have received no representations about the future of the Court Funds Office and the Court Funds Special Account.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many accounts on behalf of  (a) individual litigants and (b) clients of the Court of Protection are held in the Court Funds Special Account; what the average balance was of the fund over the last 12 months; how many transactions the Account administered in that period; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The average balance of funds heldin the CFO Special Account for 2005-06 was3.12 billion. There are 83,195 accounts held on behalf of individual litigants and 18,895 accounts held on behalf of clients of the Court of Protection. During the course of the last year there have been 912,075 transactions.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what rate of interest has been payable on the Court Funds Special Account over the last 12 months; how much abovebase rate this rate was; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Special Account has paid interest at a rate of 6 per cent. throughout the last 12 months. The base rate set by the Bank of England was at4.75 per cent. from March until August 2005 when it changed to its present rate of 4.50 per cent. Interest rates on Court Funds accounts are kept under regular review.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to upgrade the IT available to the Court Funds Office; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The IT infrastructure for the Court Funds Office is kept under regular review. The processing power of the system is currently being upgraded at minimal capital cost.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff are employed in the Court Funds Office; what the (a) salary and  (b) on-costs are; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Court Funds Office staffing level has remained constant over the past reporting year with 195 staff employed as of 31 March 2006. The salary cost for staff for the financial year 2005-06 was 4.96 million, and on-costs were 0.6 million. The total cost for staff was therefore 5.52 million.

Courts

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the  (a) magistrates courts,  (b) Crown courts and (c) county courts which have closed in each year since January 1995, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and what (i) the date of and (ii) reason for each closure was.

Harriet Harman: The information available to my Department on the county, Crown and magistrates courthouses that have closed since 1995 (broken down by parliamentary constituency) is set out in the following tables.
	It has not been possible to include individual reasons for closure against each building. However, the reasons for closures include:
	under-utilisation
	cost effectiveness
	lack of secure custody facilities to meet Human Rights Act requirements
	lack of separate waiting area for witnesses and victims away from defendants
	facilities being outdated and not meeting Disability Discrimination Act requirements
	alternative, improved provision of access to justice (including where the courthouse is being replaced with a new building containing modern and fit for purpose facilities)
	Since 1995 a number of new courthouses have been built which has improved the standard of facilities provided to court users.
	
		
			  Magistrates courts 
			   Courthouse closed  Date of closure  Constituency 
			 1995 Nottingham (Guildhall) 30 November 1995 Nottingham, South 
			 1995 Nottingham (Sand Field House) 30 November 1995 Nottingham, South 
			 1995 Bala 31 December 1995 Merionnydd Nant Conway 
			 1995 Hunstanton 31 December 1995 Norfolk North-West 
			 1995 Pembroke 31 December 1995 Carmarthen, West and Pembrokeshire, South 
			 1995 Tywn 31 December 1995 Merionnydd Nant Conway 
			 1995 Whitminster 31 December 1995 Stroud 
			 1996 Bromley (South Street) 28 February 1996 Beckenham 
			 1996 Mansfield (Commercial Street) 28 February 1996 Mansfield 
			 1996 Hornsea 31 March 1996 Beverley and Holderness 
			 1996 Howden 31 March 2006 Haltemprice and Howden 
			 1996 Market Weighton 31 March 2006 Yorkshire East 
			 1996 Old Street 12 July 1996 Hackney, South and Shoreditch 
			 1996 Halstead 31 August 1996 Saffron Walden 
			 1996 Biddulph 30 September 1996 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 1996 Kidsgrove 30 September 1996 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 1996 Cheadle 30 September 1996 Cheadle 
			 1996 Tonbridge 31 October 1996 Tonbridge and Malling 
			 1996 Amlwch 31 December 1996 YNS Mon 
			 1996 Colwyn Bay 31 December 1996 Clwyd, West 
			 1996 Bedale 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1996 Easingwold 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1996 East Dereham 31 December 1996 Norfolk Mid 
			 1996 Bleanau Festiniog 31 December 1996 Blaenau Gwent 
			 1996 Ingleton 31 December 1996 Skipton and Ripon 
			 1996 Leyburn 31 December 1996 Richard (Yorks) 
			 1996 Llangollen 31 December 1996 Clwyd, South 
			 1996 Thirsk 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1997 Ellesmere Port 31 March 1997 Ellesmere Port and Neston 
			 1997 Hampstead 31 March 1997 Hampstead and Highgate 
			 1997 Marylebone 31 March 1997 Cities of London and Westminster 
			 1997 Otley 31 March 1997 Leeds, North-West 
			 1997 Seaham 31 March 1997 Easington 
			 1997 Bromsgrove 31 May 1997 Bromsgrove 
			 1997 Ledbury 31 May 1997 Leominster 
			 1997 Hebburn 5 June 1997 Jarrow 
			 1997 South Shields (Kepple Street) 5 June 1997 South Shields 
			 1997 Chippenham (Market Place) 30 June 1997 North Wiltshire 
			 1997 Ashton-under-Lyne (Manchester Road) 31 August 1997 Ashton-under-Lyne 
			 1997 Duckinsfield 31 August 1997 Denton and Reddish 
			 1997 Thorne 31 August 1997 Doncaster, North 
			 1997 Pontardawe 9 October 1997 Neath 
			 1997 Braintree 31 December 1997 Braintree 
			 1997 Stokeley 31 December 1997 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 1997 Clacton on Sea 31 December 1997 Harwich 
			 1997 Bargoed 31 December 1997 Caerphilly 
			 1997 Monmouth 31 December 1997 Monmouth 
			 1997 Pontlttyn 31 December 1997 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 
			 1997 Pontypool 31 December 1997 Torfaen 
			 1998 Malton 6 February 1998 Ryedale 
			 1998 Marlborough Street 31 March 1998 Cities of London and Westminster 
			 1998 Bishop's Stortford 31 March 1998 Hertford and Stortford 
			 1998 Hatfield 31 March 1998 Welwyn Hatfield 
			 1998 Hitchin 31 March 1998 Hitchin and Harpenden 
			 1998 Market Rasen 31 March 1998 Gainsborough 
			 1998 Chertsey 31 March 1998 Runnymede and Weybridge 
			 1998 Farnham 31 March 1998 South-West Surrey 
			 1998 Oxted 31 March 1998 East Surrey 
			 1998 Lutterworth 31 July 1998 Halborough 
			 1998 Ripon 1 August 1998 Skipton and Ripon 
			 1998 Barnard Castle 31 December 1998 Bishop Auckland 
			 1998 Clerkenwell 31 December 1998 Islington, South and Finsbury 
			 1998 Sheerness 31 December 1998 Canterbury 
			 1998 West Malling 31 December 1998 Tonbridge and Malling 
			 1998 Lytham 31 December 1998 Flyde 
			 1998 Diss 31 December 1998 South Norfolk 
			 1998 Corwen 31 December 1998 Clwyd, South 
			 1998 Felixstowe 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 1998 Haverhill 31 December 1998 Clwyd, South 
			 1998 Saxmundam 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 1998 Stowmarket 31 December 1998 Bury St. Edmonds 
			 1998 Newmarket 31 December 1998 West Suffolk 
			 1998 March 31 December 1998 North-East Cambridgeshire 
			 1998 Saffron Walden 31 December 1998 Saffron Walden 
			 1999 Christchurch 31 March 1999 Christchurch 
			 1999 Abingdon 31 March 1999 Oxford, West and Abingdon 
			 1999 Henley on Thames 31 March 1999 Henley 
			 1999 Windsor 31 March 1999 Windsor 
			 1999 Morley 31 March 1999 Morley and Rothwell 
			 1999 Pudsey 31 March 1999 Pudsey 
			 1999 Stow on the Wold 30 June 1999 Stroud 
			 2000 Ampthill 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Biggleswade 1 January 2000 North-East Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Dunstable 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Leighton Buzzard 1 January 2000 Bedfordshire, South-West 
			 2000 Lichfield 31 March 2000 Tamworth 
			 2000 Keighley 1 April 2000 Keighley 
			 2000 Keswick 30 April 2000 Workington 
			 2000 Windermere 31 May 2000 Westmorland and Lonsdale 
			 2000 Wigton 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 2000 Appleby 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 2000 Gravesend 9 June 2000 Gravesham 
			 2000 Wootton Bassett 2 October 2000 North Wiltshire 
			 2000 Abergele 31 December 2000 Clwyd West 
			 2001 Alfreton 1 January 2001 Amber Valley 
			 2001 Ashbourne 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Bakewell 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Matlock 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Leigh 31 March 2001 Leigh 
			 2001 Middleton 31 March 2001 Heywood and Middleton 
			 2001 Leek 31 March 2001 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 2001 Worcester 31 March 2001 Hereford and Worcester 
			 2001 Warrington Patten Hall 1 April 2001 Warrington, South 
			 2001 Macclesfield Park Green 1 April 2001 Macclesfield 
			 2001 Bideford 30 April 2001 Torridge and West Devon 
			 2001 Exmouth 30 April 2001 East Devon 
			 2001 Kingsbridge 30 April 2001 Totnes 
			 2001 South Molton 30 April 2001 North Devon 
			 2001 Teignmouth 30 April 2001 Teignbridge 
			 2001 Tavistock 30 April 2001 Torridge and West Devon 
			 2001 Axminster 4 May 2001 East Devon 
			 2001 Tiverton 4 May 2001 Tiverton and Honiton 
			 2001 Newquay 30 June 2001 North Cornwall 
			 2001 Southampton (Commercial Road) 31 August 2001 Southampton Itchen 
			 2001 Womborne 1 September 2001 Staffordshire, South 
			 2001 Gillingham 30 September 2001 North Dorset 
			 2001 Bridlington 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Brough 9 November 2001 Haltemprice and Howden 
			 2001 Driffield 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Hull (Guildhall) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 2001 Hull (Lowgate) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 2001 Pocklington 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Withensea 9 November 2001 Beverley and Holderness 
			 2001 Arundel 1 December 2001 Arundel and South Downs 
			 2002 Bridgenorth 31 January 2002 Ludlow 
			 2002 Leominster 31 January 2002 Leominster 
			 2002 Fakenham 1 May 2002 North Norfolk 
			 2002 Tunbridge Wells 2 June 2002 Tunbridge Wells 
			 2002 Beaconsfield 1 July 2002 Beaconsfield 
			 2002 Buckingham 1 July 2002 Buckingham 
			 2002 Evesham 30 November 2002 Mid Worcestershire 
			 2003 Thame 31 January 2003 Henley 
			 2003 Droitwitch 21 March 2003 Mid Worcestershire 
			 2003 Machynlleth 21 March 2003 Merionnydd Nant Conwy 
			 2003 Chester Le Street 21 March 2003 North Durham 
			 2003 Rugeley 21 May 2003 Cannock Chase 
			 2003 Lempeter 9 June 2003 Caredigion 
			 2003 Tenby 30 June 2003 Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire 
			 2003 Camberley 30 June 2003 Surrey Heath 
			 2003 Trowbridge 30 September 2003 Westbury 
			 2003 Whitchurch 3 October 2003 North Shropshire 
			 2003 Long Sutton 31 October 2003 South Holland and the Deepings 
			 2003 Caistor 31 December 2003 Gainsborough 
			 2003 Horncastle 31 December 2003 Louth and Horncastle County 
			 2004 Richmond 31 March 2004 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 2004 Stourbridge 23 June 2004 Stourbridge 
			 2005 No closures 
			 2006 Wetherby 7 March 2006 Elmet 
		
	
	 (A) Crown courts
	Other than the closure of the satellite courts highlighted in the following table there have been no other Crown court closures.
	
		
			   Courthouse closed  Date of closure  Constituency 
			 1997 Surbiton Sessions House (a satellite of Kingston-upon-Thames Crown court) crown court sittings ceased when the new building Kingston-upon-Thames Crown court opened at The Bittoms, Kingston. 1997 (unable to confirm exact date) Kingston and Surbiton 
			 1999 Wellington Town Hall (a satellite of Croydon combined court) was handed back to the landlord and Crown court sittings ceased in 1999. 1999 (unable to confirm exact date) Carshalton and Wallington 
		
	
	 (B) County courts
	
		
			   Court  Date of closure  Constituency 
			 1995 Amersham 9 January 1995 Chesham and Amersham 
			 1995 Wisbech 29 September 1995 Cambridgeshire, North-East 
			 1995 Market Drayton 27 October 1995 Shropshire, North 
			 1995 Brentwood 29 December 1995 Brentwood and Ongar 
			 1995 Bargoed 29 December 1995 Caerphilly 
			 1995 Barry 29 December 1995 Vale of Glamorgan 
			 1995 Cardigan 29 December 1995 Ceredigion 
			 1995 Llandrindod Wells 29 December 1995 Brecon and Radnorshire 
			 1996 Otley 2 January 1996 Leeds, North-West 
			 1996 Alfreton 16 February 1996 Amber Valley 
			 1996 Ilkeston 16 February 1996 Erewash 
			 1996 Matlock 16 February 1996 Derbyshire, West 
			 1996 Sleaford 16 February 1996 Sleaford and North Hykeham 
			 1996 Spalding 16 February 1996 South Holland and the Deepings 
			 1996 Dover 29 March 1996 Dover 
			 1996 Folkestone 29 March 1996 Folkestone and Hythe 
			 1996 Newton Abbot 29 March 1996 Teignbridge (court was amalgamated with Torquay) 
			 1996 Sittingbourne 29 March 1996 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 
			 1996 St. Austell 29 March 1996 Truro and St. Austell 
			 1996 Chippenham 30 April 1996 Wiltshire, North 
			 1996 Goole 4 November 1996 Brigg and Goole 
			 1997 Ammanford 27 March 1997 Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr 
			 1997 Andover 30 June 1997 Cotswold 
			 1997 Braintree 1 December 1997 Braintree 
			 1997 Bishop's Stortford 1 December 1997 Hertford and Stortford 
			 1997 Alnwick 15 December 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 
			 1997 Blyth 15 December 1997 Blyth Valley 
			 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 15 December 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 
			 1997 Bridlington 24 December 1997 Yorkshire, East 
			 1998 Rochdale 7 September 1998 Rochdale 
			 1998 Holywell 7 September 1998 Delyn 
			 1998 Camborne and Redruth 24 December 1998 Falmouth and Camborne 
			 1998 Hemel Hempstead 24 December 1998 Hemel Hempstead 
			 1998 West Bromwich 24 December 1998 West Bromwich, East 
			 1998 Loughborough 31 December 1998 Loughborough 
			 1999 Corby (local sittings on trial basis to July 1999) 1 March 1999 Corby 
			 1999 Bridgwater 20 December 1999 Bridgwater 
			 2000 Great Yarmouth 31 January 2000 Great Yarmouth 
			 2000 Grays Thurrock 31 January 2000 Thurrock 
			 2000 Lichfield 3 July 2000 Lichfield 
			 2000 Caerphilly 30 November 2000 Caerphilly (unable to confirm) 
			 2001 Workington 2 January 2001 Workington 
			 2002 Chepstow 1 April 2002 Monmouth 
			 2002 Monmouth 1 April 2002 Monmouth

Deaths in Custody

Sally Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what legal aid is available to the families of people who die in state custody.

Harriet Harman: Any party who qualifies for legal aid under the standard means and merits criteria can obtain legal advice and information on a variety of matters under the Legal Help scheme. In addition although most civil claims arising from death are outside the scope of civil legal aid, funding can be provided for claims concerning serious wrongdoing by a public authority or significant breach of human rights.
	Legal aid for the family of the deceased for representation at an inquest is not normally available, but it can be granted in exceptional circumstances, subject to strict criteria. The Lord Chancellor also has the power to waive the legal aid financial eligibility limits in cases where Article 2 ECHR is likely to require it, providing it is reasonable to do so in all the circumstances of the case.

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Department has taken to meet its statutory obligation as a public body in promoting the rights of disabled people.

Bridget Prentice: The Department for Constitutional Affairs is mindful if its responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It has put into place a programme to establish a Disability Equality Scheme which will be operative by December 2006. General action plans are in preparation for the Department for Constitutional Affairs and regional action plans are being prepared regarding specific duties. The Department has sought assistance from the Disability Rights Commission and Greater London Authority regarding its Disability Equality Scheme.
	In order to obtain views from disabled staff on the Disability Equality Scheme, questionnaires were sent to all staff with a disability seeking their views/suggestions as to what should be included in the Scheme. The Disability Rights Commission has yet to define the Secretary of State's areas of responsibility for reporting on the Disability Equality Duty.
	The Department's Disability Network has been influential, in conjunction with Human Resources, in arranging a specific training course for frontline staff designed to assist customers with disabilities to access its services more effectively. The Network has put together a step-by-step guidance manual for managers and staff detailing how the Department's services might be utilised.

Elections

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many elections there were in each ward of  (a) the Vale of Clwyd and  (b) Denbighshire in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: This information is not held centrally. The local authorities in question will have details of the local elections held in their area.

Elections

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many elections there were in each  (a) county and  (b) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows:
	 (a) This information is not held centrally.
	 (b) The following parliamentary constituency elections were held in the past 10 years:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 659 + 4 by-elections 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 5 by-elections 
			 2000 8 by-elections 
			 2001 659 + 1 by-election 
			 2002 1 by-election 
			 2003 1 by-election 
			 2004 3 by-elections 
			 2005 646 + 2 by-elections 
			 2006 1 by-election to date

Electoral Registers (Incomplete)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list all marked electoral registers found to be missing  (a) in whole or  (b) in part since the Answer given on 30 November 2005,  Official Report, column 642W.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The constituency of Woking remains the only constituency where the marked register from the 2005 General Election is missing in full.
	 (b) As of 23 January 2006, the following constituencies have parts of their 2005 General Election marked registers missing:
	Ashton Under Lyne
	Bassetlaw
	Beverley and Holderness
	Bolton West
	Bristol North West
	Bristol South
	Broxtowe
	Bury North
	Canterbury
	Cardiff North
	Carmanthan West
	Carshalton and Wellington
	Chesterfield
	Chipping Barnet
	Cities of London and Westminster
	Cleethorpes
	Copeland
	Corby
	Crawley
	Derby North
	Devizes
	Doncaster Central
	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	Enfield North
	Erewash
	Fareham
	Folkestone and Hythe
	Gainsborough
	Gloucester
	Grantham and Stamford
	Harlow
	Harrow West
	Hornchurch
	Huntingdon
	Hull West and Hessle
	Lancaster and Wyre
	Leeds Central
	Leyton and Wanstead
	Liverpool Riverside
	Liverpool Walton
	Makerfield
	Manchester Central
	Manchester Gorton
	Mid Norfolk
	Milton Keynes South West
	Monmouth
	Newark
	Newbury
	Normanton
	North Dorset
	North East Hampshire
	North East Hertfordshire
	North West Hampshire
	Norwich North
	Norwich South
	Portsmouth North
	Preston
	Rugby and Kenilworth
	Saffron Walden
	Selby
	Sevenoaks
	Sheffield Central
	South West Norfolk
	South West Surrey
	Stone
	Surrey Heath
	Tamworth
	Taunton
	Torridge and West Devon
	Wallasey
	Wansdyke
	Warrington South
	Waveney
	Weaver Vale
	Wells
	Chelmsford West
	West Worcestershire
	Wokingham
	Wolverhampton South East
	Wyre Forest

European Small Claims Procedure

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made in negotiations with other EU member states on the European Small Claims Procedure in relation to  (a) the proposed 2,000 limit and  (b) the rule that the losing party would have to pay the losing party's costs.

Bridget Prentice: While the Government would prefer the limit in the European Small Claims Procedure to be higher than 2,000, we recognise that different member states with varying costs of living have different needs. Although a fixed limit remains on the table, other options have also been raised. They include a range within which each member state will be able to set its own limit. The question has not yet been settled and negotiations continue.
	The principle that the losing party normally pays their own costs as well as those of the winner has been agreed by member states. The Government have secured agreement that costs should be proportionate and discussions continue as how this is to be achieved.

Gender Recognition Act

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent on implementation of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Bridget Prentice: The Gender Recognition Act received Royal Assent in July 2004, and came into force in April 2005. During that period, a team in the Department for Constitutional Affairs oversaw the implementation process, including the setting up of the statutory Gender Recognition Panel. Other departments and agencies, including particularly the Office for National Statistics, also worked on the implementation process. As accounting structures do not precisely equate expenditure to individual Bills, and because of this multi-agency effort, I cannot provide precise figures for the implementation process; I can however provide these indicative numbers.
	The budget for the Gender Recognition Project for financial year 2004-05, including costs to other departments, was 908,000; however, this also included the later stages of the parliamentary passage of the Gender Recognition Bill. Of this, between 300,000 and 400,000 was allocated for policy administration and staff costs. In the start-up budget for the Gender Recognition Panel, administrative start-up costs were estimated at 81,000,capital start-up costs were estimated at 128,000, programme start-up costswere estimated at 51,000, and rent start-up costs were estimated at 9,000.
	The estimated cost for implementation by the Office for National Statistics was 200,000; this includes the establishment of the statutory Gender Recognition Register and preparing for the issue of new birth certificates to successful applicants as required by the Act. Costs to the Court Service were estimated at 34,000; this includes updating computer and other systems to allow for the new grounds for the annulment of marriages and the issue thereafter of full Gender Recognition Certificates, as well as appeals to the High Court against decisions of the Gender Recognition Panel. These amounts are included in the total.

Gender Recognition Act

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the salaries are of each of the individuals who sit on the Gender Recognition Panel.

Bridget Prentice: The President of the Panel is His Honour Judge Harris, who is also President of Appeal Tribunals. The Deputy President is Mr. Jeremy Bennett, who is a Regional Chairman of Appeal Tribunals. Legal members of the Panel are salaried District Chairmen of Appeal Tribunals. None of these office holders receives any additional salary on account of his or her responsibilities in connection with the Panel. Medical members of the Panel are remunerated at the rate of 340 per day.

Hague Convention 1996

John Stanley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Government Ministers have had discussions with Spanish Ministers on the ratification of the Hague Convention of 1996 on the International Protection of Children; and on what dates such discussions took place.

Harriet Harman: My right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary raised the matter in a letter to the current Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Mbratinos, on 12 October 2004.
	In addition to this, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Mr. Macshane) raised the issue in a meeting with the then Spanish Europe Minister on13 November 2003, when Minister for Europe. On24 November 2003 Baroness Scotland also discussed the issue with Ana Palacio, the then Spanish Foreign Minister.

High Sheriffs

Alan Beith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the process is for appointing county selection panels for the selection of High Sheriffs in England and Wales.

Bridget Prentice: All Counties are encouraged to have Consultative Panels to provide consistency and continuity in the selection of future High Sheriffs. The panels are non-statutory. Guidance on membership is issued by the Association of High Sheriffs of England and Wales.

Inquests

Sally Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the criteria are by which a decision is taken as to whether an inquest should be heard by a senior judicial office-holder.

Harriet Harman: Any decision whether to appoint a judicial officer as assistant deputy to hear a particular inquest is entirely a matter for the individual coroner.

Juvenile Detention

Rudi Vis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the role is of magistrates in achieving the Youth Justice Board target of reducing the use of custody for juveniles by 10 per cent.

Harriet Harman: Magistrates deal with young people convicted of crime within the statutory sentencing framework which Parliament has set. They also have regard to relevant decisions of the higher courts, guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, and, where these have been prepared, pre-sentence reports by Youth Offending Teams. Sentencing decisions have a bearing on the Board's targets but the role of magistrates is to sentence within the framework described.

Legal Aid

Si�n James: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether complaints have been received at her Department about legal aid claimants who  (a) are suspected of and  (b) have been convicted of benefit fraud.

Harriet Harman: The Department does receive some complaints about claimants' entitlement to legal aid but they are referred to the Legal Services Commission for investigation. However, information is not collected by the Legal Services Commission specifically about legal aid claimants who have been convicted of benefit fraud.

Party Funding

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list leaders of political parties represented at Westminster to whom the Lord Chancellor has written seeking views on elements of a reporting regime of loans received further to the Lord Chancellor's statement in the House of Lords on 20 March.

Bridget Prentice: The following leaders of political parties represented in Westminster were written to on 20 March: The Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP Leader of the Conservative Party, The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies Campbell MP Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Gerry Adams MP Leader of Sinn Fein, Mark Durkan MP Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, George Galloway MP Leader of Respect the Unity Coalition, Elfyn Llwyd MP Leader Plaid Cymru, The Rt. Hon. Ian Paisley MP Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Lord Rogan Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Alex Salmond MP Leader of the Scottish National Party and Richard Taylor MP Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern.
	The Lord Chancellor also wrote at the same time to Lord Beaumont of Whitley of the Green Party.

Personal Injury Cases

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when her Department will publish its response to the consultation findings on damages in personal injury cases.

Bridget Prentice: The Law Commission published a number of reports on issues relating to the civil law on damages, including Claims for Wrongful Death, Liability for Psychiatric Illness, and Damages for Personal Injury: Medical, Nursing and Other Expenses; Collateral Benefits. The Government intends to publish a consultation paper on the proposals contained in these reports and other issues relating to the law on damages in summer 2006.

Small Claims

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps are being taken to expand the type of small claims hearings that can be dealt with by telephone.

Bridget Prentice: Telephone hearings are already used on a limited basis for civil hearings in respect of certain applications in England and Wales.
	From April 2006, the scope of hearings that can be dealt with by telephone has been extended to cover many of the preliminary stages of the proceedings in civil cases, including e.g. allocation hearings, listing hearings and case management hearings. This provision includes small claims preliminary hearings.
	Hearings that could result in the final determination of the whole or part of the proceedings, such as small claims final hearings, cannot be dealt with by telephone hearing.